Dark Souls II

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3117 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,992 out of 3117
  2. Mixed: 521 out of 3117
  3. Negative: 604 out of 3117
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  1. Rendomg
    May 1, 2014
    9
    So, as a big fan of Dark Souls, and Dark Souls 2, I'll give more extensive review that I can reply to anything I can if someone has a question.

    Short Review: Despite some of the more negative reviews, this really is an amazing game, this coming from someone who put over 350+ hours in Dark Souls (Steam + Xbox 360), and a great addition to the Soul series. It is still somewhat of a    So, as a big fan of Dark Souls, and Dark Souls 2, I'll give more extensive review that I can reply to anything I can if someone has a question.

    Short Review:
    Despite some of the more negative reviews, this really is an amazing game, this coming from someone who put over 350+ hours in Dark Souls (Steam + Xbox 360), and a great addition to the Soul series. It is still somewhat of a console port, yes, the controls for PC aren't that amazing. But you can easily pick up a controller off Amazon or your local Gamestop (or something similar) for ~25 USD. The story is fantastic even the side stories are great , the graphics are fantastic, the gameplay is amazing, and I've already dropped 50+ hours into the game and I'm well into my way in NG+.

    Long Review:
    I'll review this game on some key points I think are fair when it comes to a game like this, you can agree or disagree, whatevers fine.

    Controls:
    Again, I will give some of the naysayers credit, it is a console port. The Key Bindings aren't amazing for PC, I have a friend who can use them, but they were hard to get used to, but if you played Dark Souls then this should be no surprise. There might be more support coming out later for PC key bindings, but I personally view this as a minor detail, seeing as you can buy a controller for the PC for ~25 USD.

    Graphics:
    Simply put, it's a beautiful game and is top notch in graphics, it doesn't look amazing like ARMA 3 (google screen shots of that game, it's glorious) but the graphics are still very good and a big step up from it's console versions as well as Dark Souls for PC. There's little details they have in the game that really just put it above many others for me, and what really makes me love this games graphics.

    Sound:
    The game sound, like the other Soul games, is great. The swords clanking, the WOOSH you hear when you parry someone, and the feeling you get when you hear that death sound from your enemies (or yourself, it is Dark Souls anyway) is unique and satisfying. The music is very fitting for every scene that there is music, and there's even some parts in the game where the ambiance goes above and beyond, and just immerses you.

    Story:
    I won't give away any spoilers, but the story is very good and you actually have a lot more direction in the game then you did in Dark Souls, at the beginning you might be a little lost but after you talk to some people, and you start to figure out how the game is supposed to be going it gets awesome and you start to really get into the game and can lose track of time easily. You'll find that the story keeps you driven to see what happens next and wanting to progress.

    Gameplay:
    The gameplay is, as you might think, very similar to a lot of monster fighting games of this nature. Obviously it's going to be dang near the exact same as Dark Souls, with honestly, only one or two changes coming to mind. Going from Dark Souls to Dark Souls 2, (for you Dark Souls players), the parrying is a little different, it's a little harder to parry, you don't get as many infinity frames, but you can get more with a stat (hint!), and Guard Break is now a little harder to get as it has another use, which you'll find out eventually.
    PvE:
    The boss fights are all unique in their own way, some of the fights share similar traits that I've had my friends call "Lazy Design" but I personally don't see it too much, and just adds that much more challenge and I respect that in games. Each stat you might go with (Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, or Faith) is equal in their own way, though, I've been told that currently Dexterity is lacking at the moment, but there will probably some sort of fix in the near future.
    PvP:
    I exclude PvP from this review, strictly because it's across all of the platforms that it pertains to. In short, as someone who has been a tank, caster, ranged, and melee (str, haven't done much with Dex), I can say that PvP is somewhat broken at the moment. You can search on YouTube for Dark Souls 2 PvP videos, some of the things that you encounter in this game can drive you crazy and really make you saying "HOW DID I DIE TO THAT???" (if you're like me anyway) With more skill with the game, comes better survivability through which any Dark Souls player knows that, so if you get killed by an invader, don't get discouraged, it happens and know that you can probably kill them when you've played a little more.
    In short, again for PvP:
    Dark Magic is OP, and can 1 shot people
    Rolling counters Dark Magic as well as staggering the caster.
    Strength does a lot of damage.
    Backstab "fishing" is harder to do in Dark Souls 2 then it was in Dark Souls, so don't worry about that too much. Just gotta watch out for parries and guard breaks.

    Overall:
    This is an amazing game, and well worth the price tag, especially if you have a controller already. I strongly do recommend you use a controller for this game. If you don't have the money for a controller, than maybe hold off until you can get both.    … Expand
  2. Syndrome
    May 1, 2014
    9
    Game is great, using a pc-con so i don't have the flaws of controls. For those who sayed graphics are bad probrably have a PC value of under 800 or don't have any graphics card. might also be possible that they just have there settings on low and were to lazy to verify if you could put it up. 1080p resolution with 60 fps is pretty good compared to the consol 720p and 30 fps. loadingsGame is great, using a pc-con so i don't have the flaws of controls. For those who sayed graphics are bad probrably have a PC value of under 800 or don't have any graphics card. might also be possible that they just have there settings on low and were to lazy to verify if you could put it up. 1080p resolution with 60 fps is pretty good compared to the consol 720p and 30 fps. loadings screen are alot shorther then the console game. graphics are good, gameplay is good, storyline is good. Only problem is for people who are new to gaming, they might have alot of issues, but for people looking for a challenge. this is it. find the story to easy (ya wont)? then do player vs player. do not base your rating base on hearing reviews and being a sheep about it. buy it and play it. trust me it is worth it 100%. a problem for it not being 10/10 is the direction you are given, sometimes you may feel lost. and they have xbox controller buttons even if you are using a pc. but all and all a solid 9/10. sorry if bad english :) it is not my native language :) and my auto correct is not set for english :).… Expand
  3. panoszafas
    May 1, 2014
    0
    Those who play this as their first souls game....It's fun
    But compared to the previous two games this is just a cheap,uninspired imitation...end of story.
    Really surprised that so few people are saying this....It's soooooo obvious if you are a hardcore fan of the series. Looks like some completely different team tried to copy dark souls and demon souls without really understanding what    Those who play this as their first souls game....It's fun
    But compared to the previous two games this is just a cheap,uninspired imitation...end of story.
    Really surprised that so few people are saying this....It's soooooo obvious if you are a hardcore fan of the series.
    Looks like some completely different team tried to copy dark souls and demon souls without really understanding what made those games different and interesting.Huge dissapointment    … Expand
  4. airyimbin
    May 1, 2014
    10
    10/10 Would die again. Game in comparison to the console versions is highly superior in every way. Mod from durante also helps as well with and increase in graphical fidelity.
  5. Nathonas
    May 1, 2014
    10
    Dark Souls 2, in my opinion, is one of the best games of this decade and all time. I didn't get a chance to play the first one due to the problems of the PC port, but I assume it's much of the same. You could tell that the developers put SO MUCH work into this game, it is wonderfully complex, and not in a stupid way.

    I love that everything is about learning and getting better, and not    Dark Souls 2, in my opinion, is one of the best games of this decade and all time. I didn't get a chance to play the first one due to the problems of the PC port, but I assume it's much of the same. You could tell that the developers put SO MUCH work into this game, it is wonderfully complex, and not in a stupid way.

    I love that everything is about learning and getting better, and not about getting better gear as it is in every other RPG game. You have to be smart and always careful. Also, I love the level of little details like being able to use weapons in 1 or 2 hands, different weapons having VASTLY different playstyles and uses, the effects of gear on your roll speed, the effects of gear weight, etc. There is just so many little variables for you to play with and learn and customize in the way that you want.

    The leveling system is also unique in that you level through souls rather than experience, and gives you a great amount of customization. And of course the best feeling about a game is when you fail over and over (but knowing that it is your fault) and then finally succeeding.

    The atmosphere and the style of game is also incredibly unique. I love the dreary, dark and desolate atmosphere of the game. The fact that there are so few NPCs really adds to the atmosphere, and the NPCs add to the story really effectively. They don't feel like the stereotypical characters you see in every game. The whole premise of the souls is also incredibly unique and brilliant - you use souls for everything and it is a nice twist on the typical, overused ideas in other games - like the idea of Undeath.

    I would close by saying that DS2 is the first time in about a decade that I felt truly passionate about gaming again. Sure there were good games along the way like Mass Effect and The Witcher, but DS2 is on another level - it's like how I felt playing games like Diablo 2 or World of Warcraft for the first time. I put in 13 hours in the first day, despite dying probably 50 times just on the beginning part, because the game is that good.    … Expand
  6. Bawaga
    May 1, 2014
    1
    I rarely come to Metacritc to do reviews but I had to warn all PC gamers out there. I can't believe I bought into the hype. My friends who have consoles were raving how good Dark Souls 2 was. WRONG. This game is a terrible PC port filled with bugs. The graphics are chunky, the voice acting sucks, and most of all it's really hard to play with a mouse + keyboard. I spent my first hourI rarely come to Metacritc to do reviews but I had to warn all PC gamers out there. I can't believe I bought into the hype. My friends who have consoles were raving how good Dark Souls 2 was. WRONG. This game is a terrible PC port filled with bugs. The graphics are chunky, the voice acting sucks, and most of all it's really hard to play with a mouse + keyboard. I spent my first hour rebinding keys over and over to get them to work somewhat. I would rebind the keys and game would still be somehow be mixing up the old bind with the new binds WTF. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

    The game is hard not because of the monsters but because it's very hard to control your own character. More than half of my deaths were caused because my character was not responding properly to the keybinds. If the enemy gets too close my character would sometimes swing his weapon through him and miss. WTF Too many clipping issues to count. I gave up after 5 hours of sheer frustration. Save your money and avoid this piece of garbage PC port at all cost.    … Expand
  7. DangerMX
    May 1, 2014
    10
    The game has been updated on Steam (PC), work for all now, no justification for this score by the HATERS, the game is beautiful, graphics is modest, but nothing to panic (I liked) no border-aliasing, full FPS, good textures, and the game-play is REALLY GOOD on PC's, continues with the essence of Demon/Dark Souls. For me this game is EPIC... Battle, grade and equipment system is the mostThe game has been updated on Steam (PC), work for all now, no justification for this score by the HATERS, the game is beautiful, graphics is modest, but nothing to panic (I liked) no border-aliasing, full FPS, good textures, and the game-play is REALLY GOOD on PC's, continues with the essence of Demon/Dark Souls. For me this game is EPIC... Battle, grade and equipment system is the most complex in the game EVER, the story-line (Lore) is amazing, the enemies are so hard! But I found easier than previous, nothing to spoil the game! Do not listen to any of these bad reviews below, buy the game and then tell me it was not worth it! Buy ORIGINAL and have no such problems!… Expand
  8. EclipseEx
    May 1, 2014
    10
    Do not listen to the reviews that say that the game does not work as it has already been fixed. You will miss out on one of the best games available right now.

    The game looks fantastic on max settings.

    You will want to use a gamepad. Period.

    Your first death will likely come from three little pigs.

    Praise the sun!!
  9. SirPFS
    May 1, 2014
    8
    You guys just went full hollow... never go full hollow.

    If you guys think that the port is horrible, take a look at the first game, and please think again. The port is not perfect, but damn, way better than the first one. And improvements deserve a highscore. And yes, this is Darksouls, you have to play with a controller, like any Souls game. The game is unfair, you'll be angry    You guys just went full hollow... never go full hollow.

    If you guys think that the port is horrible, take a look at the first game, and please think again.
    The port is not perfect, but damn, way better than the first one. And improvements deserve a highscore.
    And yes, this is Darksouls, you have to play with a controller, like any Souls game.

    The game is unfair, you'll be angry when the boss will do a 360 just to target and beat the cr*** out of you. This is how it works.

    I saw some minor bugs in my 2 playthrough i've done so far, but nothing gamebreaking.

    There are indeed some things that could have been better, but this game dont deserve the crap you are giving it.    … Expand
  10. superexplosive
    May 1, 2014
    10
    Before I begin this review there are some things I'd like to get out of the way:

    1. Being bad at the game does not make it a bad game 2. Not being able to run the game does not make it a bad game 3. This game should not be compared so closely to other RPG's like the oh-so-popular Skyrim With those three points cleared up, I find it satisfying to say that Dark Souls II is a    Before I begin this review there are some things I'd like to get out of the way:

    1. Being bad at the game does not make it a bad game
    2. Not being able to run the game does not make it a bad game
    3. This game should not be compared so closely to other RPG's like the oh-so-popular Skyrim

    With those three points cleared up, I find it satisfying to say that Dark Souls II is a fantastic game.

    Following its predecessor Dark Souls, this sequel brings the same "Prepare to Die" mentality that veterans of the series are familiar with. In fact, Dark Souls II returns this same attitude alongside new characters, weapons, area designs, game mechanics and polished graphics. Upon first startup (by the way, I had NO startup issues whatsoever) I got the "Me vs. The World" feeling that I knew so well from the previous game. Upon navigating the locations that surround Majula, I could see various enemies waiting to kill me, yet I felt so alone. This is a feeling that I am rarely presented with in any other game. Needless to say, I like it a lot.

    Certainly this wouldn't be much of a review if I only shared my praises for Dark Souls II.
    There are really only two minor hiccups that I would like to discuss, the first being the "no-respawn" mechanic. After killing an enemy 15 times in Dark Souls II, they cease to return to life upon your resting at a bonfire. As this was not the case in Dark Souls (the first), I think it should have been an optional mechanic. While it may help players that can't seem to overcome certain foes, it also hinders the collection of items from enemy drops. I found this personally irritating while trying to obtain all pieces of an armor set only to find that I could no longer kill the enemy that dropped those pieces. That being said, this problem can be solved fairly easily with the use of a Bonfire Ascetic. Although the ascetic will increase the difficulty of an enemy, this shouldn't be much of a problem for the seasoned Dark Souls player.

    The second slight issue that I found with this game was the fact that sorceries have a ridiculous damage output. As I went to fight the Guardian Dragon boss with two phantom magic-users, I was a bit disappointed to see that such an epic looking dragon was destroyed within under a minute. I am inclined to believe that this is related to the power of the spells rather than the weakness of the boss (at least in this case). Casting may get annoying in PvP as well, but it can be contained if you know how to properly fight close-ranged.

    All in all, I will give Dark Souls II a 9.5/10 (rounded my score here up to 10).
    As a past fan of the Souls series, I definitely consider this entry worthy of its title and would recommend it to any gamer willing to put in a little effort and maybe some tears.    … Expand
  11. mogy142
    May 1, 2014
    3
    How the hell are people enjoying this abomination of a game? They go around telling people it a 10/10 game, do they even know what 10/10 stands for? It means a perfect game with no flaws, apparently theres no flaws with Dark Souls 2 then? Get real and open your eyes. The graphics suck and are so dull for a 2014 game, it looks like a dog **** on a disc.

    Here are facts about lazy    How the hell are people enjoying this abomination of a game? They go around telling people it a 10/10 game, do they even know what 10/10 stands for? It means a perfect game with no flaws, apparently theres no flaws with Dark Souls 2 then? Get real and open your eyes. The graphics suck and are so dull for a 2014 game, it looks like a dog **** on a disc.

    Here are facts about lazy gameplay mechanics that you cant deny out of your ass. Any kind of decision you make in this game when in combat, stamina is consumed based on what you do, which is great because it secures that decision, but when you make a decision realistically, for example to correctly dodge an enemy or boss's attack and that boss/enemy's body is auto aiming towards your every exact location your going to dodge and land in in precisely, Its like the developers didnt want you to dodge, so shield yourself right? then your stamina gets destroyed and enemy can hit u even more easier. How can you honestly have fun in a game that has every enemy/boss's attack animations land with 100% accuracy (even the slow swinging attackers) in every move you make and leave you with 1-2 hits at most before you get clobbered by the enemy ?

    its not the difficulty, its the lazy mechanics, you 12 year olds that are giving this 10/10 wont understand what the difference is between correct and well thought out hard mode difficulty and lazy hard mode. Here ill summarize in the following scenario:

    Well thought out difficult setting: A boss has made the decision to attack, he attacks me and its too late for him to swing in your exact direction since I dodge right on time, he has left his back vulnerable therefore i can attack more then twice before i back off, so the boss turns around and does a different attack making me wonder how to dodge but i try anyway and just as he attacks, i roll and his attack hits the area that was originally targetted.

    Current lazy difficult setting: A boss has made the decision to attack, so right as he does, I dodge but his body is still auto aiming towards me as hes landing his attack instead of landing it where he should of missed originally. His back is almost never vulnerable, after he ends his attack animation, i have 1 or 2 attacks at most to do to him, as he recovers fast enough to repeat the combo again while auto aiming his every move towards my dodging points, so really all I find myself doing is running from him so much im too busy to notice when to attack.

    Oh yea real fun difficulty you got there, have fun with these cheap gameplay mechanics which you are too blind to understand the clear differences in.    … Expand
  12. SolomonRed
    Apr 30, 2014
    9
    Loving everything about this sequel.
    The people complaining about the graphics should look at the recommended specs, it was made so the majority of PC's would have no problem running it. FromSoftware even clarified that they want the game to look good but not be unattainable to mid range users.
    My experience so far has been nothing but flawless. Beautiful character models and landscapes    Loving everything about this sequel.
    The people complaining about the graphics should look at the recommended specs, it was made so the majority of PC's would have no problem running it. FromSoftware even clarified that they want the game to look good but not be unattainable to mid range users.
    My experience so far has been nothing but flawless. Beautiful character models and landscapes all around.
    Game-play wise the controls are consistently responsive, when I die I usual know it was because of a flaw on my part not the game. By the way I am playing on a gamepad, the way Dark Souls is meant to be played.
    This would be a 10 for me but due to the apparent very vocal minority of players having issues on their set-ups, it could likely use some minor fine tuning.    … Expand
  13. xveganroxx
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    This is the definitive Dark Souls experience. Yes, you will die, sometimes seemingly unfairly. Yes, you should use a 360 controller. Yes, people will invade you and stab you in the back. No, if someone tells you "Try jumping for treasure!" off a cliff, you shouldn't. No, you can't play it on a 2005 Celeron with onboard graphics. Yes, this is the most immersive and rewarding modern actionThis is the definitive Dark Souls experience. Yes, you will die, sometimes seemingly unfairly. Yes, you should use a 360 controller. Yes, people will invade you and stab you in the back. No, if someone tells you "Try jumping for treasure!" off a cliff, you shouldn't. No, you can't play it on a 2005 Celeron with onboard graphics. Yes, this is the most immersive and rewarding modern action RPG experience available. Get it.… Expand
  14. rafanerd
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    As you can see by the level of the negative "reviews" here, everyone complaining either:
    1) Refuses to use a joystick
    2) Have a crappy gpu Seriously, this game is a masterpiece on it's genre, just like it's predecessors (Demon Souls and Dark Souls). If you liked them, you can't go wrong with DS2, since it improve the previous installments in many ways. But if you don't, well, you    As you can see by the level of the negative "reviews" here, everyone complaining either:
    1) Refuses to use a joystick
    2) Have a crappy gpu

    Seriously, this game is a masterpiece on it's genre, just like it's predecessors (Demon Souls and Dark Souls). If you liked them, you can't go wrong with DS2, since it improve the previous installments in many ways. But if you don't, well, you won't like it cause it's basically more of the same.    … Expand
  15. Jonatikkan
    Apr 30, 2014
    9
    The first Dark souls game was amazing but, as we all know, it had terrible defects. The most important was the online aspect,with failing summonings and the pvp, laggy as hell. The second one, the technical aspect: 30 fps? C'mon!

    But you know what? They fixed it! And I don't mean just an upgrade, I mean the online works perfect now. The pvp system is much more balanced and diversed.    The first Dark souls game was amazing but, as we all know, it had terrible defects. The most important was the online aspect,with failing summonings and the pvp, laggy as hell. The second one, the technical aspect: 30 fps? C'mon!

    But you know what? They fixed it! And I don't mean just an upgrade, I mean the online works perfect now. The pvp system is much more balanced and diversed. Whatever your style of combat is it will be fun to use and effective.
    The game runs at 60 fps and looks great, not as well as expected but much better than in consoles. And anyone knows that modding can help the game to look much more beautiful.

    Oh, by the way. This game is not meant to be played with keyboard and mouse, get a controller. Why? Is not only due to the interface, with some upgrades for keyboard and mouse control, but also the gameplay. Don't nerf yourself and get a controller.    … Expand
  16. tritium_3
    Apr 30, 2014
    0
    Did the critics actually play the released PC game? or did they get some other version? because if they actually played the PC released game on steam, and still think the graphcis are "rich", then they are clearly delusional. Huge graphical downgrade. game looks nothing like the e3 footage. Game was clearly rushed and not tested. GUI is clunky, controls are trash, gameplay is choppy,Did the critics actually play the released PC game? or did they get some other version? because if they actually played the PC released game on steam, and still think the graphcis are "rich", then they are clearly delusional. Huge graphical downgrade. game looks nothing like the e3 footage. Game was clearly rushed and not tested. GUI is clunky, controls are trash, gameplay is choppy, graphics are unbearable. Hey from software, THIS IS 2014, why does your game look like its from 2005? Completely unacceptable to have a game that is 10x worse graphics than its previous game released in 2010. what the **** were the developers doing? why release a game this horrible? dark souls 1 was a masterpiece, Dark souls 2 is a get rich quick scheme from FROM software to take advantage of the tremendous legacy of Darksouls and the dedicated fan base. they completely disappointed me, and many other people with releasing this pile of ****. Critics are either bribed from the software companies, or they clearly havent played the Steam released version of the game at all.

    DO NOT BUY FOR PC.    … Expand
  17. BeanyUndead
    Apr 30, 2014
    9
    Dark Souls II is a great game. It is let down slightly by the fact that the console-port is not as complete as I think many people would have hoped, but it is still extremely well executed. The mouse movement is smooth and attacks/actions are crisp and feel ‘weighty’. The only problem is that the ‘instructions’ the game provides, especially in the tutorial zone, are all console-commands,Dark Souls II is a great game. It is let down slightly by the fact that the console-port is not as complete as I think many people would have hoped, but it is still extremely well executed. The mouse movement is smooth and attacks/actions are crisp and feel ‘weighty’. The only problem is that the ‘instructions’ the game provides, especially in the tutorial zone, are all console-commands, making learning how to play a little tedious at first. But as YouTube offers numerous ‘getting started’ guides, this is not a big problem.
    The game masters atmosphere like no other, presenting a bleak and emotionally crushing fantasy world that looks as though it has reached the end of a very long history and is crumbling before time. The characters are well voice acted, the dialogue provided is excellent given the genre and effect the designers were going for and above all, it all comes together to form a deep and often surprising gaming experience. Combat is exceptional and challenging. Level design is simply inspired!
    The game is hard but with patience you can always master its challenges. Remember one thing! Anyone who gave this game a rating below 7 (which is the lowest score even the most critical reviewer could legitimately justify) is not being a good reviewer. They are allow their own highly specific problems dominate their opinion of the entire game because they are angry. It is an excellent game!    … Expand
  18. Darvinius
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    Absolutely brilliant Game. Easy to learn hard to master . On my PC System it´s running perfect without bugs . Thanks From Software for this Pearl of Game :)
  19. Whitescreenop
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    UPDATE: The other review was negative,because the game didn't work.
    Finally the game it's working,(after the update) and All I can say,it's awesome,beautiful,incredible and more hard than before.
    The multiplayer finally get fixed,now the connection it's super-fast and really good,good job from software.
  20. KamranMackey
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    Dark Souls II is much better than it's predecessor Dark Souls. (I'm gonna be talking about the PC version in this review.) The PC port of the game is much better than the port of the original Dark Souls to the PC. The FPS limit in the Dark Souls 2 PC port has been lifted from 30 FPS in the original Dark Souls to a smooth 60 frames per second. From Software has also implemented a ton ofDark Souls II is much better than it's predecessor Dark Souls. (I'm gonna be talking about the PC version in this review.) The PC port of the game is much better than the port of the original Dark Souls to the PC. The FPS limit in the Dark Souls 2 PC port has been lifted from 30 FPS in the original Dark Souls to a smooth 60 frames per second. From Software has also implemented a ton of graphics settings, unlike the original Dark Souls where you had to download a tool called dsfix to change the graphics settings. The combat system in Dark Souls 2 is also a lot better than the original's. They have also added many more options to the Character Customization screen so you can customize your character even more than you were able to in Dark Souls 1. They have also added new weapons and a new balanced player progression system. Everything about Dark Souls 2 is awesome, and the PC port of the game is much better than the terrible Dark Souls 1 PC port. Highly recommend you grab this game on the PC. There are a couple issues with the PC port though but From Software and NAMCO BANDAI are working hard to fix the issues and there aren't even that many issues with the game. So go out and grab this game. It's worth every penny.… Expand
  21. invizo
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    Works flawlessly on a 780 GTX and 3rd Gen i7 system. Using a Dualshock 4 PS4 controller on a USB cable for my PC and it is in every way superior to the console counterparts. Game is well optimized allowing me 4x Supersample of 2560x1440 and it runs a solid 60 FPS. No crashes or hiccups as seen in the '0' score reviews; they probably have old hardware.
  22. backInBone
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    I'm now on half way of the game and can't help come and rate this a 10/10 before I finish it. It runs smooth and looks beautiful on PC. Also I don't see any problem with the keyboard&mouse control (for some actions it's even more convenient than using a gamepad). I feel all excited while playing. It's like I'm fighting in the game world myself, every single miss may lead me to death. I love it.
  23. TennesseW
    Apr 29, 2014
    8
    Compared to the first game, this is major improvement, performance wise. My low end laptop could run it perfectly, with high settings (I turn off the shadow). This game does not have a good graphic at all, so if you're a graphic whore stay away from this game. The game play, in my opinion, is an improvement compared to the first game. No longer you could grind enemies for levelling up. ItCompared to the first game, this is major improvement, performance wise. My low end laptop could run it perfectly, with high settings (I turn off the shadow). This game does not have a good graphic at all, so if you're a graphic whore stay away from this game. The game play, in my opinion, is an improvement compared to the first game. No longer you could grind enemies for levelling up. It forces you to move forward, which is good in my opinion.… Expand
  24. Freeportaa
    Apr 29, 2014
    10
    9.5

    Amazing game, near-prefect port makes a great game even better! I have not had a single crash or problem since I started the game up a number of days ago and I've already put 20 hours into it already. The port runs at 1080p @ 60fps with 2-3 second load screens on an i7 as opposed to 15-25 seconds load screens on the PS3 (which I've already put 200+ hours into that version). People    9.5

    Amazing game, near-prefect port makes a great game even better! I have not had a single crash or problem since I started the game up a number of days ago and I've already put 20 hours into it already. The port runs at 1080p @ 60fps with 2-3 second load screens on an i7 as opposed to 15-25 seconds load screens on the PS3 (which I've already put 200+ hours into that version). People who are having problems with game crashes at start up are in the VAST minority and FromSoft is aware and working on a fix. In fact, I believe they have patched it and it's working for more people. Others who've complained that keyboard and mouse being horrible are incorrect. Mouse + Keyboard DO take a while to setup but it's quite intuitive after taking the time to get acquainted with that setup and getting a feel for the combat (which can take time even on a controller). Yes, the button prompts use Xbox 360 icons and so do the stones in the tutorial, if you can get past this hump you will find the controls do work well. My personal preference is for a Xbox 360 controller or any game pad in general, that is the easier option as this game was designed for one and works great. As you can see the Metascore for this game is a 9.1. Critics who know what the Souls series is about give this game a great score. I believe people who don't like the game are casuals who didn't expect this game to be as difficult as it is or are disappointed that this game is not quite up to Dark Souls near-perfect standards and have cheated themselves out of a stellar experience. I've seen people walk into sequels (video game, movies etc) with incredibly high (unreal!?) expectations and get burned for it. If you've never played a Souls series game do some research, walk into this game with an open mind and you will have a good time.    … Expand
  25. abraxes
    Apr 29, 2014
    10
    It seem a lot of people are upset about the port not being as wonderful as they'd like. I suggest getting a controller (they're like twenty bucks... come on, guys) and get down to business playing this AMAZING game from From Software until your eyes start to bleed... Dark Souls 2 is a worthy successor to an incredible rpg that stands out in the crowd like the absolute gem that it is. IfIt seem a lot of people are upset about the port not being as wonderful as they'd like. I suggest getting a controller (they're like twenty bucks... come on, guys) and get down to business playing this AMAZING game from From Software until your eyes start to bleed... Dark Souls 2 is a worthy successor to an incredible rpg that stands out in the crowd like the absolute gem that it is. If you liked the first two, don't be fooled by people whining about the port-- we should be grateful to be able to play this on PC. DS 2 is everything I hoped for, and more.… Expand
  26. PcIsMasterRace
    Apr 29, 2014
    10
    As every Souls game it's
    "Hate it or love it"
    If u liked DS1 u will LOVE DS2.
    If u hate DS1 u will hate DS2.
    And don't play this Game without a gamepad, it's not mend to play with a Keyboard so accept it.
    it's the same as playing a FPS with a gamepad on PC.
  27. sniperlawless10
    Apr 29, 2014
    10
    I would give this a 9.8 this game dark souls 2 is a true dark souls game, I started with demon souls though that is the hardest one so far I am glad they made it a little more easier For the first playthrough it is a hard game even so, and if you want to make it even harder you can put a specific item at a bonfire and it will re spawn all the enemy npc in the area, if you killed theirI would give this a 9.8 this game dark souls 2 is a true dark souls game, I started with demon souls though that is the hardest one so far I am glad they made it a little more easier For the first playthrough it is a hard game even so, and if you want to make it even harder you can put a specific item at a bonfire and it will re spawn all the enemy npc in the area, if you killed their respawns 10 times. The bosses also come back after using that item so if you wanted to trade your boss soul for one of the 3 choices you have to get a spear or shield or bow you can do that as well. The Pc graphics are much better than the console version, After the tutorial you will see this excellent artistic area, the water is just drop down jaw dropping and the wind that moves the grass is even a better site, a lot of the levels have fantastic graphic quality. Even at 1600x900 it looks amazing, I can't say it has better graphics than crysis but it has better art. So I plugged it in my TV that is 1920x1080 and it looked even better, resolution changes everything. But then I heard about a tool called Gedosatotool it is a mod that is in alpha stage and it basically means that you can down sample and it is most compatible with dark souls 2 so far it did not crash my game. I set it to 3840x2160 and changed the Anti alaising to ultra and started the game. And boy does it now look better than ever it looks like the game play trailers that were out before down sampling really helps the game look 5 times better than what it is. This game is truly optimized for low end- high end gaming machines a mid end can run this game max settings 60 frames no problem. I am using a old processor back from 2007 called the Intel core 2 Q6600 quad core at 2.4ghz and a gtx 550ti graphics card and 4.5gb ram and the game runs 60 fps with the down sampling enabled. The controls are much better on keyboard and mouse than the previous dark souls game, you are allowed to change keybindings ect. You can also plug in a controller of your choice. I have plugged in my Ds4 playstation 4 controller and it worked like a blast I also downloaded the playstation controller texture pack mod so it replaces the xbox controllers buttons with playstation buttons. The gameplay is really remarkable, one little tiny mistake can get you killed, even against weaker opponents that seem harmless can sneak up to your back and kill you with one back stab, You have to be aware of your surroundings, otherwise you will die a lot. The boss fights are incredible, they are such a challenge especially when you have to fight through tough opponents to reach the fog boss area gate, where no bonfire will be present so if you die you will have to plow through them again and waste healing potions ect. But thanks to there limited re spawn once you go through it about 10 times they will stop spawning. The bosses fight very aggressively you will die a few times before learning there moves and predicting on what they will do next, one of the hardest bosses I though was hard to learn was the looking glass boss I do not look at tutorials and I ended up die about 20 times before being able to predict all his moves and finally kill it. The bosses are very smart and some of the tougher bosses will not allow you to summon npc phantoms which is awesome because I never use phantoms anyways or player help. the souls you gather from bosses can be than traded for their swords, shield, spears, bows ect... which all each have their own special attack that the boss used in the fight against you. The atmosphere of the game is amazing you will hear singing from npcs, awesome voice acting, Excellent music when your fighting bosses that are just epic. You will hear every sword swing that hits a rock or deflects off of a shield in its own way. You also get to level up your character according to how you want to play if you want to be a mage you specifically put most of your souls towards that or, range or melee you do the same to them. This game is truly a souls game that will last 60-100 hours through the first play through and after you beat the game you will get to play it again with all your gear ect.. and start all over with even more of a challenge and after that their is a another NG++ Which is even more difficult hard.… Expand
  28. zachser
    Apr 29, 2014
    9
    This is a well made sequel to the Souls series. It runs a lot smoother on the PC than it's predecessor did and it actually feels like they put some care into making it run on the PC properly unlike the port of Dark Souls. The combat feels polished for the most part, different routes were balanced out a bit better (melee, sorcery, ranged, etc) to bring them closer together, the difficultyThis is a well made sequel to the Souls series. It runs a lot smoother on the PC than it's predecessor did and it actually feels like they put some care into making it run on the PC properly unlike the port of Dark Souls. The combat feels polished for the most part, different routes were balanced out a bit better (melee, sorcery, ranged, etc) to bring them closer together, the difficulty curve is much nicer (no Anor Londo wall in this one), and many of the environments are beautiful to look at. There is a nice blend of Dark Souls and Demon's Souls for this game, using the best of both worlds and improving upon both of them. Death carries a higher punishment than previous games, but at the same time perseverance is rewarded a little more. Dying costs you a percentage of your max health (down to a minimum of %50 I believe) but can be reversed by helping someone else beat a boss in their world or using a human effigy (I think I had about 40 of those by the end of the game). Once you kill an enemy so many times it will stop spawning upon resting at a bonfire or dying, both to stop constant grinding of a zone and to help players who keep dying a lot.

    Keyboard and mouse controls are not optimal like many people are saying, however there is no way that they could actually make that happen. Dark Souls 2 uses every button on the controller to play, including the D pad and L3, which puts it at using 14 non-movement or camera buttons. If you use your mouse for the camera and the two mouse buttons for attacks (can't use more than that for default controls because not everyone has more buttons than that) then you have sixteen buttons you have to somehow manage to keybind in a usable way (14 + 4 for movement - 2 for the mouse attacks). There is no way to actually do that where it feels intuitive, especially for a game like this where you have to be able to use most of those at a moments notice.

    Overall this is definitely a well made game and I believe it is getting a lot of flak for an undeserved reason. It is a rewarding game that gives one a great feeling of accomplishment when any boss is beaten or a zone you were having trouble with is passed and while it is certainly not made for the casual crowd, it is a good title for those of us who truly enjoy gaming.    … Expand
  29. GRiMtox
    Apr 29, 2014
    10
    While the first game was a really bad port and only enjoyable with a controller and the DSFix, the second part only requires the first one. This game is one of the best games ever made, so was the first one. The atmosphere, the gamedesign, the mechanics; everything is extremly well coordinated and makes this game to one of the best RPGs of all time. If you are frusttollerant and have aWhile the first game was a really bad port and only enjoyable with a controller and the DSFix, the second part only requires the first one. This game is one of the best games ever made, so was the first one. The atmosphere, the gamedesign, the mechanics; everything is extremly well coordinated and makes this game to one of the best RPGs of all time. If you are frusttollerant and have a fetish for dark places, this game is for you.… Expand
  30. khjir
    Apr 29, 2014
    9
    Well my first post on mc, only to soften damage, done by some silly people. :)

    The game itself is well, no questions here. But as far as PC port goes - let me say, graphics + mods, 60fps, somewhat not that bad menu browsing with partly mouse navigation and horrid console design - yep it's there. But now it's usable, not like first game. So get used to it or skip, really if menus do    Well my first post on mc, only to soften damage, done by some silly people. :)

    The game itself is well, no questions here.
    But as far as PC port goes - let me say, graphics + mods, 60fps, somewhat not that bad menu browsing with partly mouse navigation and horrid console design - yep it's there. But now it's usable, not like first game. So get used to it or skip, really if menus do anger you, don't even bother.

    now controls - first i was kinda 'meh'. tried it for few hours. and now i'm rolling :) with some minor tweaks to control scheme, no mods or etc. just give it a fair try, try to get used to it, and you will be ok :) again - not perfect, but really good. i'm finishing lost bastille now, but my achievement is = no man's warth with no deaths at all, with keyboard without any fancy stuff.

    so overall pc game is good, it lacks some stuff but nothing seriuos. game itself is fantastic :) ill give my 9 just because i'm not into 0/10 :)    … Expand
  31. enut_butter
    Apr 29, 2014
    9
    Ignore the negative reviews. This game, is great, and a fitting sequel to Dark Souls.

    First off, the performance, WOW. I've got a mediocre gaming rig, FX-6300, 8 GBS RAM, GTX 760, and even with everything maxed out I can't even begin to get the game to dip below 60 fps. Secondly, while the game has a few new mechanics that don't really play out like I wish they would have (namely    Ignore the negative reviews. This game, is great, and a fitting sequel to Dark Souls.

    First off, the performance, WOW. I've got a mediocre gaming rig, FX-6300, 8 GBS RAM, GTX 760, and even with everything maxed out I can't even begin to get the game to dip below 60 fps.

    Secondly, while the game has a few new mechanics that don't really play out like I wish they would have (namely the need for torches, I've only found one real area where I needed them so far and was hoping for more), they don't detract from the game at all. The game is fantastic, hard, rewarding, full of secret areas to explore and covenants to join.

    I haven't been this satisfied with a game since the original Dark Souls.    … Expand
  32. JudgmentJay
    Apr 29, 2014
    10
    For this review, I'll first talk about the game itself then at the end talk about the PC version in particular.

    Dark Souls 2 is a great addition to the Souls series. If you liked the previous two games, then you're almost guaranteed to like this one. Core gameplay remains mostly the same. The combat is just as fluid, difficult, and satisfying as the previous titles. A huge variety of    For this review, I'll first talk about the game itself then at the end talk about the PC version in particular.

    Dark Souls 2 is a great addition to the Souls series. If you liked the previous two games, then you're almost guaranteed to like this one. Core gameplay remains mostly the same. The combat is just as fluid, difficult, and satisfying as the previous titles. A huge variety of weapons and playstyles gives the game a ton of replay value, just like the first two.

    The story is still minimal, the dialogue is in the same vein, and the lore is seemingly just as deep. Sound and music are fantastic as well.

    PvP and co-op PvE I feel is the best in the series. Summons/invasions are fast and thanks to PC load times are extremely quick. Multiplayer sessions feel more responsive and are less prone to lag due to dedicated servers.

    Now, a few differences/nitpicks: First, there are more bonfires than Dark Souls 1, and I feel that they are too close together. To be honest I thought Dark Souls 1 had too many, and this one has even more. Too many checkpoints removes some of the tension in the game, something that I feel Demon's Souls did best.

    Second, a few of the areas feel very bland from an aesthetic standpoint. I don't mind bleak and barren landscapes, but they actually just feel... unpolished/unfinished. Especially when compared to other areas in the game which look gorgeous. They're look so bad that they take me out of the experience a bit. Fortunately both areas in question are very short.

    Finally, and this one is purely subjective, I feel that the game is noticeably easier than the previous two titles. The aforementioned bonfire placement, enemies that despawn after being killed a certain number of times, a certain easily obtainable ring, and extremely strong NPC summons combine to provide an overall easier game.

    Devil's advocate on the third nitpick, there are also ways to make the game harder for those seeking a challenge. The Company of Champions covenant, joinable at the beginning of the game, simply increases enemy health and damage across the board. New Game+ is also considerably different and more challenging this time around with more enemies, different enemy placements, and lots of black phantoms that are often strategically placed to maximize their likelihood of killing you. There are also armors/weapons/spells that are exclusive to NG+/++. Finally, there is a reward for beating the game without dying and one for beating the game without using a bonfire. Pretty cool.

    All in all, it's a great game and it does some things better and some things worse than the other games. In my opinion, Demon's Souls is best for atmosphere/mood, Dark Souls is best for core PvE gameplay and lore, and Dark Souls 2 is best for PvP/co-op.

    As for the PC version, it is by far the definitive experience. 1080p+ (I'm downsampling from 4k) resolution, 60 FPS, 2-3 second load times, ability to use mods, and the ability to play with whatever input method you want make it so much nicer than the console version. I played about 100 hours on the PS3 version, and now that I've played the PC version I regret all 100 of those hours. The console versions are a blurry, sluggish, choppy mess in comparison.

    As a side note, I can't help but wonder how many of these negative reviews of the PC version are due to personal ineptitude when it comes to computers. Also, who the hell calls themselves a PC gamer and doesn't own a controller of some sort? I agree that KB+M is the best input method for many genres, but not all.    … Expand
  33. JamesTheThird
    Apr 29, 2014
    0
    I'm a huge fan of RPGs, but this one is a misunderstanding. Forget about technicalities such as controls, graphics and so on. These are minor issues. The main thing is that this is 2014 and the main character is mute. Did you like brilliant dialogues in Mass Effect series or Dragon Age? Well, you won't find them here. There are no such options like choosing an answer, because theI'm a huge fan of RPGs, but this one is a misunderstanding. Forget about technicalities such as controls, graphics and so on. These are minor issues. The main thing is that this is 2014 and the main character is mute. Did you like brilliant dialogues in Mass Effect series or Dragon Age? Well, you won't find them here. There are no such options like choosing an answer, because the protagonist just doesn't speak at all! This is a total killjoy for me. R.I.P. Souls.… Expand
  34. aliwake
    Apr 29, 2014
    2
    DS2 is RPG game but this game is not very hard.but most people say this game is very hard Rather this game is Slag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Do not waste your money for this game.because dark souls 2 is the most bad console port game Ever.
    The only good thing is playing music.In some areas it is!!!!!!!!!! I can not stand that the game would be completely empty. Detailed level the    DS2 is RPG game but this game is not very hard.but most people say this game is very hard Rather this game is Slag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Do not waste your money for this game.because dark souls 2 is the most bad console port game Ever.
    The only good thing is playing music.In some areas it is!!!!!!!!!!
    I can not stand that the game would be completely empty. Detailed level the playing Disaster All times playing video games on the shoulders of graphic art spread.People who say that this game is only for certain people are completely wrong.This game is not only a map, not a mission to be spun like crazy on the environment that you are looking for a monster first half with a shot to the back. Skyrim does not even have the game in terms of graphics is more like Dragon Age.
    I'm glad we enter the next generation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    … Expand
  35. KingofNoobs
    Apr 29, 2014
    5
    50 euros? 3 years ago pc games had 30 euros.Now 50 for crap games and in 2 weeks steam will sell it at 20 30. So tiring that didnt even played more than 30 mins
  36. bananapancakman
    Apr 29, 2014
    10
    First off, ignore every negative review from everybody, and to every IDIOT who is crying about how the keyboard controls suck, THIS GAME IS NOT MENT FOR KEYBOARDS, SIMPLE AS THAT. The developers even recommend using a controller if all those IDIOTS GIVING NEGATIVE REVIEWS just read the system requirements on steam THEN THEY WOULD REALIZE THAT THEIR ARGUMENT IS INVALID. this game is notFirst off, ignore every negative review from everybody, and to every IDIOT who is crying about how the keyboard controls suck, THIS GAME IS NOT MENT FOR KEYBOARDS, SIMPLE AS THAT. The developers even recommend using a controller if all those IDIOTS GIVING NEGATIVE REVIEWS just read the system requirements on steam THEN THEY WOULD REALIZE THAT THEIR ARGUMENT IS INVALID. this game is not developed for keyboards. also ignore all negative reviews saying that the game isn't booting, as of yesterday a patch has been released to fix all those issues and it does. those were the reasons why people would rate this game a 0, that is incredibly unfair and why you cannot trust most user reviews. THE ACTUAL SCORE THIS GAME DESERVES IS A 10 as it runs beautifully on pc. Don't listen to idiots… Expand
  37. Honesth0mbre
    Apr 29, 2014
    6
    All in all Darksouls II feels like a heartfelt but misguided homage to the series, rather than an entry in it. It is an enjoyable game with glaring flaws in its design philosophies and polish. The developers have made the fatal error of confusing obtuse and irrational mechanics for challenge and the result is a game that is difficult in all the wrong ways. These flaws keep it fromAll in all Darksouls II feels like a heartfelt but misguided homage to the series, rather than an entry in it. It is an enjoyable game with glaring flaws in its design philosophies and polish. The developers have made the fatal error of confusing obtuse and irrational mechanics for challenge and the result is a game that is difficult in all the wrong ways. These flaws keep it from greatness, but the source material the game is built from is simply too good for it to be crap. I will elaborate below, but if you are the type to be insulted by the notion of a controller being used to play a PC game…well I think you might do yourself a favour and just avoid this game for now…

    I own demon's souls (PS3) and darks souls 1 (PC, modded to glory). I beat both several times, I dance with wolves! Sif, I really wish there had been another way buddy, better you than me though :( And fundamentally this is a very interesting game in what it tries to accomplish as a sequel instead of a spiritual successor. The goal here is the tried and true sequel creed of “bigger, badder, more badass”, From Software has been explicit about this from the get-go but the usual hype train might have been boarded by some unfortunates swept up by said hype. Any souls game will rip you to shreds if you expect a mainstream action game, be prepared to die. Many, many, many times.

    The main problem with Dark Souls II is ironically that it has accomplished what it set out to do. But in the wrong ways more often than not. The new design team I fear, has misunderstood the proverbial 'Soul' of the Souls series. It is not in fact about difficulty but about the ambiance and immersion provided by a cruel and merciless world. What drives the Souls games is that the brutal difficulty is a cog in the wheel of a machine that spins out a tale summed up as follows: This world hates you, everything in this world hates you and wants to kill you. You are no more important than everything that hates you, and die just as easily as the animate things that hate you. Hate is the single most important part here, you hate the bosses and want to laugh over their dissolving corpses after countless violent deaths at their hands or more grotesque appendages. This is the source of the emotional payoff that has made the souls game's such instant smash hits. You felt things when playing these games, had emotional investment in your own stories. The lore was interesting but the anaemic plot was best ignored in favour of weaving your own tale.

    The thing is that, as I said before, Dark Souls II just doesn't "get it." Yes it is an enjoyable and punishing action RPG. But the punishment comes from poorly conceived and/or implemented sources.
    -weapons degrade very rapidly and repairs are frustrated by the rarity of materials that require them. In a similar vein, you lose maximum health upon every death and the rare item that restores your health is too rare for a game in which you are supposed to die countless times. The logic of having to face a monster you couldn’t beat with an ever diminishing chance of success upon successive tries is just baffling. Monsters killed you in previous Souls because you were not good enough, now it might just be that you don’t have the HP to survive any of their auto aim attacks.
    -enemies are on turn tables until they strike. I can deal with this mechanically since perfectly timed dodges are one of the mainstays of my beloved monster hunter series. But it just ruins the immersion for a giant armoured tortoise knight to just rotate whilst tracking my character. All the while looking frozen in its striking pose until it suddenly attacks the second I stop my futile strafing.
    - you cannot aim properly with magic unless you lock on, and your mobility in crippled to fatal levels when you do. There is a reason most playthroughs involve a shield people.
    - Drangleic is not a country but a series of independent zones. The variety on offer is actually very pleasant but geographically it just makes no sense...AT ALL. Again, an immersion killer.
    My biggest problem with Dark Souls II is how it handled its core promise of Darkness and the influence this would have had on enemy encounters. The now infamous PS3 demo was a harrowing and thrilling exercise in one on one combat where you had to make the choice of being able to reliably see your aggressor or reliably defend against his crushing blows. Apparently the lighting combined with the particle effects were too taxing for the primary systems (PS3 and Xbox). It was too late at that point, the promise had been made and release was looming. I think they went the mob route to try and create a new source of tension. Fact is, the Soul's games are one on one games, you're too clunky and easily tired (stamina mechanics) to deal with a zerg rush of enemies.    … Expand
  38. ozorxoron
    Apr 29, 2014
    1
    Such an unworthy sequel, worse in every possible way than the first game. One person leaves the development team and the whole thing falls to ruin. Good job, Fromsoft.
  39. dabro90
    Apr 29, 2014
    7
    This game would be a solid 10/10 if the PC port wasn't broken. I had to go through various forums and plenty methods to even run the game, which is unforgettable for a 50€ release. Huge amount of people still cant get it to run, I was lucky to get it resolved.

    Apart from that, game is great so far.
  40. Rokyn
    Apr 29, 2014
    9
    Captures the same atmosphere and difficulty as the predecessor, huge world full of secrets and bosses and many ways to engage in pvp, which works very well. My only problem is that you can't viably go strictly ranged combat, but I also can't imagine how they would pull that off with how the game is built.
    All in all it's a really great game, that I would recommend to anyone that enjoyed    Captures the same atmosphere and difficulty as the predecessor, huge world full of secrets and bosses and many ways to engage in pvp, which works very well. My only problem is that you can't viably go strictly ranged combat, but I also can't imagine how they would pull that off with how the game is built.
    All in all it's a really great game, that I would recommend to anyone that enjoyed the prequel, or who didn't play the prequel solely because of the bad port (much better now whoop!).    … Expand
  41. OliverGrau
    Apr 29, 2014
    9
    BEFORE YOU JUST SCROLL FURTHER DOWN THE REVIEWS, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THIS:

    Hello everyone, I'm your average Joe gamer, who plays a bit of everything and I'm open minded for all games. However, after the stale port from the first Dark Souls game, I wouldn't even touch Dark Souls II with a grill fork. How did I obtain the game then? Well, my girlfriend and I was joking around and    BEFORE YOU JUST SCROLL FURTHER DOWN THE REVIEWS, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THIS:

    Hello everyone, I'm your average Joe gamer, who plays a bit of everything and I'm open minded for all games. However, after the stale port from the first Dark Souls game, I wouldn't even touch Dark Souls II with a grill fork. How did I obtain the game then? Well, my girlfriend and I was joking around and I somehow made a joke about wanting Dark Souls II one day. Well, 1 hour later I recieved a Steam gift from my girlfriend. I wasn't really too happy about and I was almost inclined to play it, as she had paid a great deal of money for it.

    I went in the world of Dark Souls 2 with a negative perspective and I wasn't too happy about Dark Souls again letting me down on the lack of 'tutorial' in terms of key bindings. However I changed that rather quickly in the settings and got it setup as I like it. I began diving into the deep combat and I died countless times and became very frustrated, yet I wanted to try again after losing every souls I had obtained (the curreny of the game) which you lose upon death. However, when I finally succeded I felt as a god, no one could take me down, the satisfaction were... Immense. I have never felt such satisfaction by succeding in a game. Though there were times I wanted to quit, I began using the tools the game provided for players to help one another through co-op or messages (guidance) which players leave behind for others to use. A great implementation to the game. I dived even deeper in the game and soon I had played for about 10 hours and it felt like minutes. I began praising the art, the visuals and the dark mood of the game - even though the textures aren't state of the art, the game began to become pleasing to the eye. The puzzles came together I saw the whole picture. Dark Souls wasn't just a frustrationg pile of trash, it was a glourious piece of art, even though it's rough around the edges, it's still one of my favorite games ever played. It deserves 10 in my opinion, but staying objective it has to be a 9, as there are some things to improve upon. I highly recommend this game to every RPG fan who is tired of the lack of difficulty in their games.    … Expand
  42. pjmeyer22
    Apr 29, 2014
    0
    When I first played Skyrim, I thought it was pretty hard. Boy was i very wrong about that. Skyrim scales to the way you play. Dark Souls is for hardcore players and masochists only. In Skyrim you can build a damn good stealth character and beat the game. If it is too difficult you can always turn it down. Hardcore is the only setting for Dark Souls 2. Another thing Dark Souls 2 does isWhen I first played Skyrim, I thought it was pretty hard. Boy was i very wrong about that. Skyrim scales to the way you play. Dark Souls is for hardcore players and masochists only. In Skyrim you can build a damn good stealth character and beat the game. If it is too difficult you can always turn it down. Hardcore is the only setting for Dark Souls 2. Another thing Dark Souls 2 does is penalize for everything. Die and you lose all of your souls. Don't die fast enough and you break your weapon. Give Dark Souls 2 a bad review. A From Software employee bad mouths you and gives Dark Souls 2 a perfect 10.

    The first thing you learn in computer 101, is that the keyboard has 105 keys. It is unnecessary to hit Ctrl+Alt+Right mouse button. You only need the space bar for this action. Yet somehow From Software did not Know this. Even worse is they did know and did anyway. You know to make the game even harder. Thank God you can rebind the keys.

    The worst thing about Dark Souls 2 is the storytelling. Apparently everyone has to talk very, very, very, very, very slowly. They have to do it in a cryptic voice. If they have a quest they have to give you little to no information on how to complete the quest. I talked to a guy to see if he had a quest and this is what I got. BLACKSMITH: I........ need ........ to ....... open...... my....... store......... I ........ lost ....... the ......... key.
    Okay can you tell me where you lost the key. BLACKSMITH: I ......... need....... to ..... Oh my God just shut up. There is no quest log and area map. So there is no quest tracking system.After an hour of searching I found out you have to buy it from a witch living in the middle of nowhere. That will be 300 souls please. After all that and completing quest. I am pretty sure I was not rewarded for my efforts. I could not level up because I was 300 souls short. That's when uninstall became my next action.

    Overall Dark Souls 2 feels like an unfinished game. The graphics are from 2005. Which is why FPS gets 60 plus. There is no quest log and there needs to be one. It would have been helpful to have an area map, but there isn't one. It would have been nice to keep the money system and XP system separate. So you don't have to spend souls on repairing items. It would been nice to select your level of play. Wait I forgot who I was ranting to. We are From Software. We are hardcore gamer snob. We do not make games that can be enjoyed by everyone.    … Expand
  43. aj587
    Apr 28, 2014
    0
    This is, by far, the worst game I have ever played. Even on max settings, the game looks like it was made on the GameCube. The grass looks like it's from Nintendo 64. Hell, some of the grass is so flat that it looks like it was a cropped, low-resolution Google Images picture. Almost every texture has really weird blur and your screen "dims" every 3-5 seconds. The shadows appear andThis is, by far, the worst game I have ever played. Even on max settings, the game looks like it was made on the GameCube. The grass looks like it's from Nintendo 64. Hell, some of the grass is so flat that it looks like it was a cropped, low-resolution Google Images picture. Almost every texture has really weird blur and your screen "dims" every 3-5 seconds. The shadows appear and disappear randomly in caves. Character creation is limited. The controls are for an Xbox 360 controller, my controls are all messed up even for my Logitech controller. Mouse and Keyboard, lol... The camera movement is awkward.

    I see why they used those crappy movie trailers. This game is a joke. First, it was not being able to launch and now all of this.    … Expand
  44. slauterhause
    Apr 28, 2014
    0
    I am SOOOOOO stupid for trusting the 'professional' reviews on this one, I should have looked closer at the user reviews.

    This is perhaps the worst port of a console game that I've ever purchased. It's beyond dreadful. If you care about anything like key-bindings, windowed Full screen or any of an endless list of normally available options, keep walking - nothing to see here. I    I am SOOOOOO stupid for trusting the 'professional' reviews on this one, I should have looked closer at the user reviews.

    This is perhaps the worst port of a console game that I've ever purchased. It's beyond dreadful. If you care about anything like key-bindings, windowed Full screen or any of an endless list of normally available options, keep walking - nothing to see here. I suppose that yes, technically it works on the PC, but that's it, you won't enjoy it. It's criminal that they charge $$ for a horrendous port that looks like it was done in about 5 minutes.

    0/10 - Easily one of the worst games I've bought in recent memory.    … Expand
  45. kyle242gt
    Apr 28, 2014
    0
    Another zero just because of the horrible control setup. How they can call this a PC version is beyond me. Shameful. Didn't even get past the tutorial. These clowns need to know PC gamers use keyboard and mouse, not a gamepad.
  46. pfmahoney
    Apr 28, 2014
    2
    I heard from friends that Dark Souls II was pretty good - and the metacritic scores were pretty good so I bought a copy, downloaded it on Steam and found that it's basically unplayable. The tutorial says to hit buttons that plainly don't do anything. It says to hit "A" and I hit A and it does nothing. I finally figured out how to open a door but then it says to hit "B" and that doesI heard from friends that Dark Souls II was pretty good - and the metacritic scores were pretty good so I bought a copy, downloaded it on Steam and found that it's basically unplayable. The tutorial says to hit buttons that plainly don't do anything. It says to hit "A" and I hit A and it does nothing. I finally figured out how to open a door but then it says to hit "B" and that does nothing.

    I am completely perplexed by trying to play the game... it's like it's broken. The mouse works ok, and I can move around like I always do with W, A, S, and D but any sort of move or action doesn't actually work at all, and I can't figure out how to do anything. I've spent some time reading reviews by users and apparently, it's all using the console controls - which is ridiculous. It's a PC game sold on Steam - PC's come with keyboards and mice.

    I don't understand how it's even legal to sell a game which doesn't work. I'm going to try to get a refund from Steam... but since I've never heard of anyone getting a refund on Steam, I'm thinking that I have a hard struggle in front of me... but likely easier than trying to learn how to play Dark Souls II on the PC.

    I'm totally disappointed and the company should be embarrassed that they released this mess.    … Expand
  47. dsheik
    Apr 28, 2014
    1
    I really wanted this game to work. I went and purchased a controller specifically for this game. Dont bother if you plan on playing it on a PC. Maybe its great on a console but its not playable on PC. Ill check back to see if updates are made, but for now its unplayable.
  48. Glgh
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    This is an improvement over what had already been an excellent first Dark Souls game.
    Somewhat brighter that it´s predecessor, Dark Souls 2 is a game that is just better looking and has better performance on PC, when compared to console versions.
    Combat has been improved and so have some other things related to both technical an artistic issues. This one is a MUST HAVE for every action    This is an improvement over what had already been an excellent first Dark Souls game.
    Somewhat brighter that it´s predecessor, Dark Souls 2 is a game that is just better looking and has better performance on PC, when compared to console versions.
    Combat has been improved and so have some other things related to both technical an artistic issues. This one is a MUST HAVE for every action RPG games fan.
    There have been some bugs, and it is just unbelievable how angry people just cast random votes without having actually seen the game.    … Expand
  49. monktheking
    Apr 28, 2014
    9
    Revising my first review. Patch fixed everything. Game looks and plays fantastic. It's Dark Souls 2, you will die alot and get angry. But you will have fun while doing so.
  50. Femtoo
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    A great game and a great port and thanks Durante great graphics. The gameplay, the atmosphere is unreal again. Online component has many improvements. Thank FromSoftware for this awesome experience.
  51. Tarnak
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    I've had NO PROBLEM at all with this game on PC. It doesn't need a fix like the first game. It looks great and runs at 60 fps (and there is not really any point to going higher... this isn't counter strike. Overall it's way better than the first one, a lot more diversity for monsters, areas, weapons and armors. Online is a lot better, it takes me under 15 seconds to summon someone. OnlyI've had NO PROBLEM at all with this game on PC. It doesn't need a fix like the first game. It looks great and runs at 60 fps (and there is not really any point to going higher... this isn't counter strike. Overall it's way better than the first one, a lot more diversity for monsters, areas, weapons and armors. Online is a lot better, it takes me under 15 seconds to summon someone. Only thing bad is the hitboxes (which will surely be fixed soon), and that bosses are not as epic as DkS1 bosses are. I don't get why everyone are complaining. THIS ISN'T A GAME THAT CAN BE PLAYED ON KEYBOARD AND MOUSE! Even if it was a perfect port, there are way to many things to be performed to play with mouse and keyboard and have everything under your fingers.… Expand
  52. janne808
    Apr 28, 2014
    5
    Post-patch review: The game lacks the vision and the stellar game design from the first Dark Souls game. What you're left with is a mediocre hack and slash action romp that looks at times like a PS2 game.

    Claims made about Dark Souls 2 being developed for the PC natively have turned out to be another marketing gimmick and a bold faced lie. Not a grain of critique was spent on the gaming    Post-patch review: The game lacks the vision and the stellar game design from the first Dark Souls game. What you're left with is a mediocre hack and slash action romp that looks at times like a PS2 game.

    Claims made about Dark Souls 2 being developed for the PC natively have turned out to be another marketing gimmick and a bold faced lie. Not a grain of critique was spent on the gaming press about the obvious bad keyboard and mouse controls, that on top of everything else, have almost a half a second delay on every action you take. Xbox controller icons are left in place from the Xbox, proving that the game is just another quick console port. Nowhere it is explained, that you need a controller to properly play the title on PC, which makes sense from a marketing perspective. It should be made clear, that the PC gamer will have to put another 20 euros towards the title in the form of a Xbox controller, but it isn't.

    Don't believe the fan-boy hype. This is not a PC game, but a bad console port of a game which is overshadowed by the brilliance of the original Dark Souls.    … Expand
  53. an_african
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    The game is definitely one of the best this year. The only complaint I have is of the keyboard/mouse settings. They are not ideally optimized, but they did try more than they did with Dark souls 1. I had to buy a controller specifically for this game. I guess the improved graphics and framerate make up for it.

    Other than that everything is basically just as good or better than the    The game is definitely one of the best this year. The only complaint I have is of the keyboard/mouse settings. They are not ideally optimized, but they did try more than they did with Dark souls 1. I had to buy a controller specifically for this game. I guess the improved graphics and framerate make up for it.

    Other than that everything is basically just as good or better than the first dark souls. Some of the zones are absolutely amazing and beat anything in the first dark souls. 10/10 from me    … Expand
  54. Fuz
    Apr 28, 2014
    3
    They did it again, and it's even more inexcusable this time.
    Mouse controls are terrible, redefining keyboard is messy and incredible chore, even more so because they didn't even bother to change the keys showed up in the interface, so you'll still see "A", "B", "Y" instead of the keys you're actually using.
    Terrible, terrible, terrible port.
  55. Valoisbr
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    An imersive game. You got to tube yourself with the game in order to fully comprehend what it is all about. On PC, some technical problems with control adaptations may disappoint, but yet, a masterpiece!
  56. ReviewForDSII
    Apr 28, 2014
    8
    First, I'd like to start off by saying that this is a great game. However, I see that too many people are complaining about a bad PC port. I disagree with that. A friend of mine and I can both manage just fine with the keyboard controls. Also, the graphics are slightly better than console, which is a nice plus. It also runs at 60 FPS and 1080p no problem. My GPU runs so cool. It runs atFirst, I'd like to start off by saying that this is a great game. However, I see that too many people are complaining about a bad PC port. I disagree with that. A friend of mine and I can both manage just fine with the keyboard controls. Also, the graphics are slightly better than console, which is a nice plus. It also runs at 60 FPS and 1080p no problem. My GPU runs so cool. It runs at idle temperatures. That's a bonus for me.

    Game play is solid and feels like a Souls game should. Bosses are phenomenal and I feel like multiplayer works much better in this game than it has in the past. The only reason this game isn't getting a 10/10 from me is because they lied about the graphics and the controls in game still show the Xbox controller buttons. Still a great game to play with friends and by yourself. I definitely recommend it.    … Expand
  57. Bladia
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    I am a PC gamer, but I played DS on my gamepad. I play DS2 with KM, because I my gamepad is broken. I spent over two hours to set keys for mouse/keyboard. And after more than 23 hours in game, not even in the half of the first playthrough I might say, it feels pretty comfortable.

    Graphics are awesome (better than console version, trust me, I could compare it live), FPS is just great, I    I am a PC gamer, but I played DS on my gamepad. I play DS2 with KM, because I my gamepad is broken. I spent over two hours to set keys for mouse/keyboard. And after more than 23 hours in game, not even in the half of the first playthrough I might say, it feels pretty comfortable.

    Graphics are awesome (better than console version, trust me, I could compare it live), FPS is just great, I never recognized any FPS drops or something - game is very smooth. Everything is great, I haven´t a single issue.

    And gameplay? Dark Souls 10/10.    … Expand
  58. ConorHat
    Apr 28, 2014
    3
    I can't connect online for some reason, thousands of others reporting the same on the forums for a few days straight, no fixes. I prefer to use the keyboard and mouse to play the game, but the interface keeps telling me to use Xbox buttons? Right away the level design and the pointed lack of atmospheric graphics, I immediately regretted my decision of buying this game. Such a lazy PC portI can't connect online for some reason, thousands of others reporting the same on the forums for a few days straight, no fixes. I prefer to use the keyboard and mouse to play the game, but the interface keeps telling me to use Xbox buttons? Right away the level design and the pointed lack of atmospheric graphics, I immediately regretted my decision of buying this game. Such a lazy PC port to an otherwise mediocre game.… Expand
  59. drebin8
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    While it isn't quite as good as Demon's Souls or Dark Souls, it's still a very enjoyable title. It's definitely worth playing, and I'm looking forward to the next entry.
  60. JacobCleveland
    Apr 28, 2014
    5
    I am re-doing my review since the patch today making the game actually PLAYABLE. Plus, I had to wait for 3 days after i pre-ordered the game 3 months ago just to run it properly. The keyboard and mouse controls are alright once you get used to them. The binding is really difficult to do, and the camera is clunky. The menu's still have Xbox 360 controller buttons instead of actual PCI am re-doing my review since the patch today making the game actually PLAYABLE. Plus, I had to wait for 3 days after i pre-ordered the game 3 months ago just to run it properly. The keyboard and mouse controls are alright once you get used to them. The binding is really difficult to do, and the camera is clunky. The menu's still have Xbox 360 controller buttons instead of actual PC key-binds which is ridiculous. They said it would be a decent port, but it's barely better than the consoles. The only thing great about the game that's different is the graphics and fps which is improved from consoles. If you wish to play this with a controller, it's worth it more than 360 or PS3. HOWEVER, I SHOULDN'T BE FORCED TO PLAY ON A CONTROLLER. If a game is released on a PC, I expect, no I demand that the controls are actually worth using. I didn't buy Dark Souls II on PC to play it with a controller.… Expand
  61. CrazyAntoha
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    Dark Souls II великолепен и невероятно крут,пожалуй одна из лучших игр выходивших когда-либо.Обалденный дизайн локаций,невероятно увлекательный геймплей и божественная музыка не дадут вам заскучать.На этот раз еще и хороший порт смастерили,60 фпс+1080 p это то чего не хватало прошлой части.Ну а те кто не доволен управлением с клавиатурой,просто глупцы,эта игра заточена под геймпад иDark Souls II великолепен и невероятно крут,пожалуй одна из лучших игр выходивших когда-либо.Обалденный дизайн локаций,невероятно увлекательный геймплей и божественная музыка не дадут вам заскучать.На этот раз еще и хороший порт смастерили,60 фпс+1080 p это то чего не хватало прошлой части.Ну а те кто не доволен управлением с клавиатурой,просто глупцы,эта игра заточена под геймпад и соотвественно играть в нее нужно на геймпаде.… Expand
  62. Scurvy
    Apr 28, 2014
    8
    Keyboard and mouse is playable, despite what people here are saying. You do need to remap a few keys and adjust sensitivity to make it functional, and they didn't get rid of the console prompts - but it is fine and responsive if you put time to set it up. Some of Froms default keys are pretty badly placed, some horribly placed, which is why I think most of the complaints are influenced by.Keyboard and mouse is playable, despite what people here are saying. You do need to remap a few keys and adjust sensitivity to make it functional, and they didn't get rid of the console prompts - but it is fine and responsive if you put time to set it up. Some of Froms default keys are pretty badly placed, some horribly placed, which is why I think most of the complaints are influenced by. I actually feel more confident with mouse and keyboard in this game than with a controller.

    The game looks nice, its an improvement from the console versions. But it still suffers from not being as good as their teasers, probably due to the redesigns they probably had to do to get a nice framerate on consoles. There are some bad textures, tiled textures, cardboard cutout backgrounds, a few badly placed enemies and seemingly pointless empty areas that screams redesigned levels - at least to me. Regardless, its likely to get mods soon enough - which is hopefully possible without threat of VAC bans

    But, it is a fun and worthy title entry to the souls series. It improves upon some of the gameplay and mechanics, but some decisions will be controversial; like the despawning enemies after they have been killed often enough, and how invasions have a smaller presence.

    Its a console port, but its not a bad one. If you enjoyed previous Souls games, you will probably enjoy it, but some may find the feel of the game has changed and it has lost a little bit of the charm. Its one of my favorite games to come out of late, but it has a few problems.    … Expand
  63. Power_Gamer
    Apr 28, 2014
    7
    I made this account just for this game. Pre ordered it 2 months before release. For the first four days I couldn't even start it due to White Screen of Death (crash during startup).

    Now the game has been fixed.

    Gameplay wise this is a great game. But the company's false advertising (graphics, lighting etc) forces me to keep my score down.

    7/10
  64. Worldeater_PS4
    Apr 28, 2014
    9
    CHANGE THE PROMPTS TO PC CONTROLS !!!! NOT X-BOX!!!!!! "press y" means press enter, Press"a" blah blah blah, cant believe they didnt even bother with that !!!

    I loved no1, i just got a PS4 and sold the ps3, so PC is was !! The game plays very well, and is just as deadly as the last, this is not a charge in swinging game, as it wasnt before, feels like an upgraded extention of the    CHANGE THE PROMPTS TO PC CONTROLS !!!! NOT X-BOX!!!!!! "press y" means press enter, Press"a" blah blah blah, cant believe they didnt even bother with that !!!

    I loved no1, i just got a PS4 and sold the ps3, so PC is was !!
    The game plays very well, and is just as deadly as the last, this is not a charge in swinging game, as it wasnt before, feels like an upgraded extention of the lastone.

    Fantastic............just hurry up and change the prompts................have you done it yet ??.............very very annoying and lazy................................................how about now ???    … Expand
  65. Barto
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    This game is meant to be played with a controller. If you don't have one or do not like this restriction, just don't buy it.

    That said, the game is amazing. It is an amazing sequence and has everything that makes the souls series great. Some may find it easier than the first one, but that does not make it much less of a challenge. The game is also not too demanding on hardware - I'm    This game is meant to be played with a controller. If you don't have one or do not like this restriction, just don't buy it.

    That said, the game is amazing. It is an amazing sequence and has everything that makes the souls series great. Some may find it easier than the first one, but that does not make it much less of a challenge.

    The game is also not too demanding on hardware - I'm able to play it well in low settings (but 1920x1080) in my laptop with a GeForce GT 525M. Those looking for beautiful graphics might not like it (although I do - in doubt check any video reviews or screenshots), but I'm in it for the game play, which is amazing.

    Those complaining about the slow movements are probably spoiled kids that do no have the patience to learn the game and cry whenever they die (which will happen a lot).    … Expand
  66. Panhodny
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    Please do not believe the negative feedback from players who (as they themselves admit) have often not even played the game! The game is fantastic, looks much better than on consoles (understandably), even though the graphics still look a bit downgraded from the pre-release pictures. Due to the inherent variability in PC optimization, I obviously cannot speak for everyone, but so far IPlease do not believe the negative feedback from players who (as they themselves admit) have often not even played the game! The game is fantastic, looks much better than on consoles (understandably), even though the graphics still look a bit downgraded from the pre-release pictures. Due to the inherent variability in PC optimization, I obviously cannot speak for everyone, but so far I didn´t experience a single bug or crash and the game runs constant 60 frames per second without a single hiccup. Overall, the port seems to be working perfectly fine and offers all the adavantages of PC gaming. The game should, however, be definitely played with gamepad - it was never designed for keyboards and its nature would have to be fundamentally changed in order to accommodate for such change. Don´t whine and praise the sun!… Expand
  67. whitedeath505
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    UPDATE: The other review was negative,because the game didn't work.
    Finally the game it's working,(after the update) and All I can say,it's awesome,beautiful,incredible and more hard than before.
    The multiplayer finally get fixed,now the connection it's super-fast and really good,good job from software.
  68. udmatador
    Apr 28, 2014
    9
    Dark Souls 2 is not for a casual gamer. I think half of the negative reviews are written without that in mind. The game is grueling at times and super rewarding at others. I recommend playing with a controller but the KB/M is much better than it was in DS1, but it still does not compare to using a controller. That's the only bad thing I have to say about this game so far and I'm 90Dark Souls 2 is not for a casual gamer. I think half of the negative reviews are written without that in mind. The game is grueling at times and super rewarding at others. I recommend playing with a controller but the KB/M is much better than it was in DS1, but it still does not compare to using a controller. That's the only bad thing I have to say about this game so far and I'm 90 hours in.

    This game is perfect for the gamer who doesn't need online games (though it's available and it's completely optional). This game reminded me how easy games have gotten these days. Dying can be extremely punishing in this game, so bring a helmet and nerves of steel. DS2 requires patience, persistence, and resolve. Don't buy this game if you're expecting some whimsical adventure through a dark world full of monsters and demons because you're not going to get that. The game play is good but requires timing and skill (though even with the most skilled hands you'll still get beat up and killed in the most unfair fashion even...so be prepared to deal with that lol).

    After everything is said and done I recommend this game for those who are not quitters or casuals. The gamer who likes to brutalize themselves and still pick themselves back up and complete the task at hand.

    this game get's a 9 because it's a well put together game and it's nice to see a title that really brings the skill back to the genre.    … Expand
  69. Blackice
    Apr 28, 2014
    8
    Great game and the PC port is good, although you should still play with a gamepad and it clearly looks like a port. It's still the best version out there and I recommend the graphics mod called GeDoSaTo DS2 Edition because the original graphics are also clearly a port of the lesser console graphics.
    The new multiplayer options are great and offer a nice diversion from the core gameplay.    Great game and the PC port is good, although you should still play with a gamepad and it clearly looks like a port. It's still the best version out there and I recommend the graphics mod called GeDoSaTo DS2 Edition because the original graphics are also clearly a port of the lesser console graphics.
    The new multiplayer options are great and offer a nice diversion from the core gameplay.
    White screen crash was fixed in a timely manner.    … Expand
  70. Nocturn86
    Apr 28, 2014
    8
    Game has been updated and seems to work for most now. I haven´t played for long yet, but from what I saw I´d give the game a 10/10 minus one point each for graphics (only slightly improved from DaS1) and controls (I use a Xbox-controller, so they are fine for me, but even when using mouse/keyboard the games always displays the Xbox buttons solely, which is unlikely to be fine for everyone).
  71. kallell
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    This game is incredible, easily one of the best I've ever played. Don't be fooled by all these "negative" reviews. I can't remember the last time I thought a game was a "10".

    I got this game this weekend, and have already put in 40 hours of gameplay. Most of the online "reviews" from consumers **** about the controls. While I can say Bandai (creators) could have done a better job with    This game is incredible, easily one of the best I've ever played. Don't be fooled by all these "negative" reviews. I can't remember the last time I thought a game was a "10".

    I got this game this weekend, and have already put in 40 hours of gameplay. Most of the online "reviews" from consumers **** about the controls. While I can say Bandai (creators) could have done a better job with the PC controls, this game is made to be played with a controller, and anyone following the series should know that by now. If if the pc controls were top notch/max customization, there is no way you could do this as effectively without having a controller in hand. All you need to do is plug in a WIRED xbox 360 (or third party) controller and you'll be set.The game shouldn't be voted on based on some of the issues it has using a mouse and keyboard. That's just ridiculous.

    This game continued to live up to the souls series and provided a plethora of new [brutal] bosses, hidden areas, and tons of completely open world exploration.

    The game is exactly how I thought it would be. I'm sick of the carebear gaming genre catering to whiny casuals who complain if a certain puzzle/boss fight takes more than two attempts. Games like this (cough WoW), makes it feel unrewarding and you always walk away feeling like the game was too short or you didn't get your monies worth.Furthermore, I despise having a linear path progression through a game; you just feel like you are being spoonfed and handheld the entire time. Having the ability to explore different areas, and have multiple "boss fight options" open to you any any given point keeps the game interesting.

    You will die, period. The sooner you accept this the sooner you will start to enjoy this game. Sometimes bosses will take 30+ attempts to down in order to get the mechanics right. Sometimes you'll be invaded while fighting other NPCs. Sometimes you'll fall victim to a trap and plunge to your death. All these parts are what make up a great game.

    Again, overall, this is easily one of the top 10 games I've ever played in my life. If you want a challenge and want to actual feel that a sense of accomplishment after beating a boss, get this game.    … Expand
  72. Rennn
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    This is a great game.
    The people rating it down apparently believe games are primarily a graphics and UI showcase with a playable demo attached. They're so stupid they make my brain hurt.

    Epic game.
  73. Cloud981
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    Once again a masterpiece!!! Souls games are not about graphics or flashy effects,but about gameplay, which is again brilliant and best in class. Difficult and frustrating as always,it push you constantly to learn something new about your opponents,but it's that satisfaction and reward after the fight what makes this experience one of a kind. With graphics greatly upgraded over itsOnce again a masterpiece!!! Souls games are not about graphics or flashy effects,but about gameplay, which is again brilliant and best in class. Difficult and frustrating as always,it push you constantly to learn something new about your opponents,but it's that satisfaction and reward after the fight what makes this experience one of a kind. With graphics greatly upgraded over its predecessor (runs smoothly 60 fps on my average gaming PC on high settings),and other minor tweaks regarding gameplay is what makes it a worthy successor to one of the best games ever made!!! >>>TheGame is meant to be played with controller!!!… Expand
  74. chr0nix
    Apr 28, 2014
    10
    I just got gang-banged by Three Little Pigs.

    The Good: · Rogue-like and addictive atmosphere. · Everything has improved over the old versions. · Hardcore. · Awesome story. The Bad: · Hardcore (for people that don't like it). · Need a controller since keyboard and mouse is impossible to play with. · You will die. Final verdict: · If you like a challenge, you'll love this    I just got gang-banged by Three Little Pigs.

    The Good:
    · Rogue-like and addictive atmosphere.
    · Everything has improved over the old versions.
    · Hardcore.
    · Awesome story.

    The Bad:
    · Hardcore (for people that don't like it).
    · Need a controller since keyboard and mouse is impossible to play with.
    · You will die.

    Final verdict:
    · If you like a challenge, you'll love this game. One of the most addictive games I have ever played.    … Expand
  75. cafebabe
    Apr 27, 2014
    6
    This game is not much fun anymore. It's either input lag or the unfair packs like the Three Sentinels. I don't like to summon people to beat the game, but this one leaves me no other choice - unlike DS1. And that makes me sad and angry. The input lag is annoying as hell. You block at 100% stamina and simple enemies slay through it. The game feels stable, but the fights don't feel balanced.This game is not much fun anymore. It's either input lag or the unfair packs like the Three Sentinels. I don't like to summon people to beat the game, but this one leaves me no other choice - unlike DS1. And that makes me sad and angry. The input lag is annoying as hell. You block at 100% stamina and simple enemies slay through it. The game feels stable, but the fights don't feel balanced. It just so frustrating. I know, the game is ment to be hard. I beat DS1 several times. But this one is has not the same feeling. I'm always feeling like being cheated by the engine.

    Another big issue is the bad durability of weapons. Having a favorite weapon for PvE is almost impossible, because durability is soooo low. I always find myself fighting mobs with my favorite, leveled weapon until they vanish (after 10 - 15 kills) so I can reach a boss with this weapon. And why the hell, don't enemies do damage to themself in close ranges?!!

    Another big issue is PvP. Too often, the lagging decides who the winner is. Lagstabs, teleports and taking damage after having dodged ten meters away becomes the norm. And you can call yourself lucky not to meet a hacker, because the PC platform is already infested with them. The game has no cheat countermeasures in place. (Why not make the client verify actions on both ends, compare them and just quit the duel when the comparison is negative?) It comes down to use a dashcam (record the PvP matches) and report the hackers to Steam along with a YouTube video.

    The overall map design feels less creative than in DS1. The zones are more separated so there is not that experience anymore, that you can look from one end of the world to the other. I liked that flavor of DS1 very much and it added to the atmosphere. In DS1 the zones felt like they really belong together.

    I hope, FromSoftware will deploy some patches to address the input lag and the PvP lagging. Right now, after 40 hours into the game, I'll take a longer break and wait for patches.    … Expand
  76. lozzer22
    Apr 27, 2014
    3
    The hitboxes are completely screwed, meaning any feeling of accomplishment from skilfully dodging an enemy is quickly lost as they somehow hit you from meters to the side. The controls of your character are also very unresponsive, after attacking you'll have to hit the button five or so times and wait for the animation of your character taking a quick break mid-combat to finish before youThe hitboxes are completely screwed, meaning any feeling of accomplishment from skilfully dodging an enemy is quickly lost as they somehow hit you from meters to the side. The controls of your character are also very unresponsive, after attacking you'll have to hit the button five or so times and wait for the animation of your character taking a quick break mid-combat to finish before you can roll out of the way. For a game that required skill and precision timing this just isn't good enough.… Expand
  77. Brutusbf
    Apr 27, 2014
    0
    Worst game i ever bought, they said it would work with keyboard + mouse but that's far from being true. They didn't even take the time to change the menus to show which keyboard button is bound to whatever (you still see Xbox buttons). I consider this game a scam. Very lazy console port. Avoid this game until it's fixed.
  78. notagamer
    Apr 27, 2014
    10
    the game is great it is exactly what you expect from the sequel of dark souls. it is a little easier than the first one but even been easier than the first is a pretty fun and hard game
  79. mrtbonesteak
    Apr 27, 2014
    10
    The first Dark Souls was a great game but an abomination on the PC. Namco only ported it to the PC because the demand was so great and they apologized beforehand for the bad port. Still, it was so extremely bad that this was no excuse. Only thanks to some community efforts did the game become playable on the PC, but the controls were still annoying when playing with a keyboard and mouse.The first Dark Souls was a great game but an abomination on the PC. Namco only ported it to the PC because the demand was so great and they apologized beforehand for the bad port. Still, it was so extremely bad that this was no excuse. Only thanks to some community efforts did the game become playable on the PC, but the controls were still annoying when playing with a keyboard and mouse.

    Dark Souls 2 is a brilliant game. I enjoyed it way more than the first one. It's bigger, harder, more enfuriating, more balanced and runs like a dream. I'm below the system requirements and it looks great while running extremely smooth. That being said, they still did a mediocre job at porting controls to a keyboard and mouse setup. It doesn't quite help that a lot of buttons and mechanics changed compared to the first Dark Souls. I do admit that I was a bit annoyed at first, but all I had to do was make an effort and think about a control setup that could work given the limitations of the control system and I was good to go. It's a disgrace that in this day and age the M4 and M5 buttons aren't supported though. Another bad thing are the preorder items. They are absolutly worthless. The other preorder extra's are nice, but I was hoping for some unique preorder items to use.

    Don't be discouraged by the negative reviews here. While I do admit that they could have done a better job with the porting of the controls, given some effort and tweaking they work just fine and rarely will you die because the controls are bad. They aren't completely customizable but enough so that you can't blame the controls when you die. It's a grand game and it's worth the extra 5 or 10 minutes to setup your controls and to figure them out. It's bigger, prettier, better and tougher than it's predecessor. The game is immense and has A LOT of great Boss fights, worth its money tenfold. Get it.    … Expand
  80. MadclownJack
    Apr 27, 2014
    9
    First, the positive. Everything and more than i expected. Brutally difficult, still, with a fantastic and gorgeous world and a subtle story to tie it all together. I had the fortune to play it both on PS3 and PC and i have to say, the PC version is OP. I know this for a fact because my laptop gets fluent 60fps on highest settings, while the PS3 version had lower textures and occasionallyFirst, the positive. Everything and more than i expected. Brutally difficult, still, with a fantastic and gorgeous world and a subtle story to tie it all together. I had the fortune to play it both on PS3 and PC and i have to say, the PC version is OP. I know this for a fact because my laptop gets fluent 60fps on highest settings, while the PS3 version had lower textures and occasionally lagged. I haven't had any game breaking bugs so far and gameplay has been flowing as well as possible. A must try for any player.

    That said, i still feel as if the designers either willfully messed up OR didn't know how to approach some very basic features. Like the confusing menus (you have to be in-game to map any button and out to play with the graphics settings)and the lack of a pause feature (it does nothing to lessen the difficulty and is really helpful because you don't have to constantly go in and out of the game, but that's just me). Also i felt as if the first game had a much better flow of the stages and story progression, i can't really say why that is.

    In summation, if you take it for what it is, mold it to your suiting, you will certainly enjoy it.    … Expand
  81. Klun
    Apr 27, 2014
    2
    Critic Reviews plz find another job ...

    This game... Lets keep it short because this game is not even worthy of huge review. The story is bland as hell, same as the graphics and the gameplay ohhh my goood... You have a jump key but you cant jump, is a lazy "jump the puddle " feature, the game is Awesome because is so HARDDD , of course is HARDDDD is a Broken Mess, over sensitive    Critic Reviews plz find another job ...

    This game... Lets keep it short because this game is not even worthy of huge review.
    The story is bland as hell, same as the graphics and the gameplay ohhh my goood...
    You have a jump key but you cant jump, is a lazy "jump the puddle " feature, the game is Awesome because is so HARDDD , of course is HARDDDD is a Broken Mess, over sensitive camera even with the lowest settings, awful controls layout and beyond stupid Mechanics, customizations... a lot when you can figure it out.
    To sum up one horrid port that should stay in consoles, one of the worst Sp experience in years and the Mp ... well good luck with that. Avoid this crap    … Expand
  82. skrik
    Apr 27, 2014
    5
    Don't listen to the people who tell you to skip the bad reviews on this game. The game really does have issues unfortunately. I am a big fan of Deamon souls and DS 1 but the change of director for DS 2 really makes the game feel different. It's not about the game being hard... Its way easier than the two previous ones except for some oddly unbalanced parts of the game.
    No the real issue    Don't listen to the people who tell you to skip the bad reviews on this game. The game really does have issues unfortunately. I am a big fan of Deamon souls and DS 1 but the change of director for DS 2 really makes the game feel different. It's not about the game being hard... Its way easier than the two previous ones except for some oddly unbalanced parts of the game.
    No the real issue is that the game feels super lazy. Most of the ennemies are just ports from the previous games. Same for the items. It feels like playing Dark souls 1 again but with less interesting levels and monsters! Deamon Soul and Dark souls 1 had amazing ambiance and strange creatures, impressive bosses... Dark souls 2 throws at you nothing but zombie kind of humans and knights for hours. Even the bosses are just knights, with stronger attacks. Where the heck are my giant swamp things, blobs wearing shields and spears, giant fire breathing spiders ???
    The game feels horribly uninspired and I found myself bored playing it while it just threw at me hordes of the same, basic ennemies again and again ( counting on numbers to make it difficult instead of making the ennemies themselves interesting to fight).

    A big disappointment for anyone looking for a true sequel to the master pieces the other souls games were.    … Expand
  83. Chrysaliarus
    Apr 27, 2014
    6
    Welcome to the drab and boring world of Drangleic. Where there are repeating textures everywhere and graphics that would make Demon's Souls curl up in a ball and cry in a corner. From-soft is the wonderful developer of this massive rpg open-world experience and I don't know how but they balls it up because every time I die I don't feel that it's my fault. Mostly because either I die fromWelcome to the drab and boring world of Drangleic. Where there are repeating textures everywhere and graphics that would make Demon's Souls curl up in a ball and cry in a corner. From-soft is the wonderful developer of this massive rpg open-world experience and I don't know how but they balls it up because every time I die I don't feel that it's my fault. Mostly because either I die from the stupid new implemented jump mechanic or the game designers though that they would have a joke with the player and make him die instantly without warring. This does not make it a bad game, the controls mostly feel responsive, and sometime even the environment can look gorgeous. Just make sure not to go up to that environment to see the **** resolution of the textures. Also, isn't this game supposed to be dark? Most of the time I don't need my torch and I can see everything perfectly clear. In fact, many things are different. The lock-on system isn't colored like in the demo, it looks worse than shown and generally everything that made it unique before has been stripped away. Overall Bright Souls 2 feels like an hollowed out version of Dark Souls with very little effort or though put into it. Poor design choices, horrid textures, a horrible jump mechanic, and sometimes non-responsive game-play is why I think this game deserves a 6 out of ten.… Expand
  84. redtwister
    Apr 27, 2014
    0
    Broken and awkward! I can't jump, among other things that don't work right. The controls are terrible. I actually am contemplating asking Steam for a refund it is so bad. Betas of other games are better than this "finished" product.
  85. Grand_Alchemist
    Apr 27, 2014
    10
    Why do people buy a game at launch, especially a PC port, and expect the game to be 100% perfect? Grow a pair, and learn to be patient for the game to be patched, jesus. It's this self entitled attitude of "I DESERVE THiS GAME NOW"
  86. deadmonday
    Apr 27, 2014
    8
    Dark Souls games are unique, but sometimes From Software made big mistakes. the first Dark souls was a really bad port but luckily it was saved by the modding community and DSfix. This time From Software promised us a better PC experience and at first look they delivered it. The game looks really good, it feels fluid and reactive but there are still some problems. At first there was theDark Souls games are unique, but sometimes From Software made big mistakes. the first Dark souls was a really bad port but luckily it was saved by the modding community and DSfix. This time From Software promised us a better PC experience and at first look they delivered it. The game looks really good, it feels fluid and reactive but there are still some problems. At first there was the start up crash which is luckily easy to solve but really annoying and then the game crashed a few times. but the game is playable and they are right now working on a patch to solve the problems. I can't say anything about the keyboard and mouse controls because I'm used to play the first dark souls with the 360 game pad and I'll continue to play with it in Dark souls 2. It's really hard to talk about the game without spoiling anything but I'll try it. The game is harder then the first one. at least the normal enemies are. sadly the bosses are a bit easier. Invasions and summoning works within seconds and the loading screens are so short that I can't read the descriptions in a normal reading speed. All in all it's a great looking game with a special feeling to it, but it needs to be patched or good ol' trusty patches will kick fromsoftware into the abyss!… Expand
  87. ehmkec
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    I read a review of DSII before I bought the game. I specifically paid attention to the mouse/keyboard references from the reviewer. He said they were much improved over the original. I am really disappointed. I am 65 and I love playing PC games. I have 177 Steam games. But my hands and a controller do not get along very well. I always play with M/K or I have pain. And man, what aI read a review of DSII before I bought the game. I specifically paid attention to the mouse/keyboard references from the reviewer. He said they were much improved over the original. I am really disappointed. I am 65 and I love playing PC games. I have 177 Steam games. But my hands and a controller do not get along very well. I always play with M/K or I have pain. And man, what a pain this game is. I even tried it with a controller and it takes 3 controller actions to jump. !!3!!! Lazy porting.… Expand
  88. augh18
    Apr 27, 2014
    0
    Remember those old-school NES games that were insanely difficult, not due to design, but because they were technically broken? That's what "Dark Souls 2" is. Not only is it obviously a terrible PC port despite claims that PC was the lead platform (then why do enemies in the distance only animate at 30fps, why is the UI so obviously designed for console, why is M&K functionality stillRemember those old-school NES games that were insanely difficult, not due to design, but because they were technically broken? That's what "Dark Souls 2" is. Not only is it obviously a terrible PC port despite claims that PC was the lead platform (then why do enemies in the distance only animate at 30fps, why is the UI so obviously designed for console, why is M&K functionality still garbage?), but the game itself plays worse than a "Souls" game ever has.

    This is likely in large part due to this being the first "Souls" game that isn't made by the original "Souls" team. If you need more info on this, google it, but bottom line is "From Software" felt that the "Souls" franchise had become successful enough that the people who made it good could do... whatever they're doing now, and the next entry (Dark Souls 2) could be made by "From Software's" B-Team.

    Playing as Melee is pretty much broken this time around, as enemy tracking is impossible to outpace. In DeS/DS1, you could see them winding up for an attack and roll out of the way, but now they spin on a dime and do not stop their facing until their attack has landed. So, instead of rolling when you see the attack coming, you have to roll during the window right before the attack lands, which is much, *much* more punishing, and *far* more difficult to execute. DeS/DS1 were punishing but fair, DS2 is punishing for the sake of being punishing.

    Gone as well is the tactical one-on-one combat, not just because of the above, but because of the game's tendency to throw entire rooms of enemies at you at once. In DeS/DS1, you could lure enemies off large packs to make them easier to handle, or if you alerted one enemy in the room you would only pull that enemy and *maybe* whoever was nearby. In DS2, if you trigger on enemy, you trigger every enemy in the room. This makes the focus on co-op much heavier, as you're going to *need* two other people around you spamming attacks just to clear more areas.

    The vast majority of boss fights are copy-pasted from DS1, and the "new" boss fights are just bosses that look new but use mechanics that anyone who's already played DeS/DS1 will immediately recognize.

    There's also the issue of item durability. In this game, your weapons are going to degrade at a much faster rate, and the only way to restore them is to use extremely rare and highly expensive Repair powders, or resting at a bonfire. This means that, more often than not, your favorite main-hand weapon is going to be rendered unusuable before you reach the next checkpoint. There's also a bug in the game that makes it so swinging your weapon through enemies who are in the "dying" animation, or swinging your weapon and having it clip a co-op phantom, will cause it to degrade at 300% the rate as well. These two combined make for a more naggy, OCD melee-combat experience.

    This is also the first time I've played a "Souls" game and felt like it needed a map. "Demon's Souls" was split into 5 seperate worlds which made it easy to keep track of things in your head, "Dark Souls" was open world but everything fit together very cohesively so again it was easy to keep track of things. "Dark Souls 2" feels like they threw a bunch of zones together and didn't care about how they connected to each other, they just wanted them there. Navigating is an absolute chore. It's entirely possible to be exploring your first time, and find yourself stuck in areas where the only way to get out is to die by jumping into a chasm/pit, or returning to a bonfire (with a spell or item). "DeS" and "DS1" had *some* of this as well, but not nearly to the extent that "DS2" does.

    The "Souls" series is all about overcoming unpleasant surprises, but the only unpleasant surprise "Dark Souls 2" delivers is that of a mishandled entry in a beloved franchise, with the only feeling left afterwards being that of wasted time. "From Software" decided they could save money by hiring lesser talent to make a game that'd get success by brand name alone. And sales-wise, it probably worked, but from now I'm going to be far more leary when I look at the next title from "From Software".

    It's very disappointing to recognize what "From" has done here, because it means that the "Souls" franchise will never be as good as it used to. Yet for how good the last two games were, there was still a lot of room for improvement, and now we'll never know how good this series could've been. Like everything else, it comes down to the people in charge intentionally ruining something so they can increase their profit by a few percent. Once that starts, there's no going back. If they feel like they have "f u" money after just two big titles, then quality from here on out is only going to get worse for "From" titles.    … Expand
  89. badjim
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    I think the fact that the game "Goat Simulator" has a higher user score (much higher in fact) pretty much says it all. Dark Souls II is certainly the worst game release of 2014 so far. The graphics are bad - really quite bad, the character design would have been fresh 20 years ago, and the controls feel like you are operating a marionette while wearing boxing gloves. The designers of thisI think the fact that the game "Goat Simulator" has a higher user score (much higher in fact) pretty much says it all. Dark Souls II is certainly the worst game release of 2014 so far. The graphics are bad - really quite bad, the character design would have been fresh 20 years ago, and the controls feel like you are operating a marionette while wearing boxing gloves. The designers of this game have taken a great concept and have failed absolutely in the execution. I can't blame it all on the port of this game (as bad as it is); mechanically, this game is obnoxious. Here we have yet another fine example of an industry that has too many wins in marketing and too many losses in actual game making.… Expand
  90. adff500
    Apr 27, 2014
    4
    1. AMD graphics card owners (7870,7970....) prepare yourself as you pay to become betatester.
    2. When you finaly run the game,you will see tutorial and interface with xbox controller prompts. (press LS and A....)
    3.Graphics are average at best.
    4. No LAN support.
    5. Wait for sale or bargain bin with patches included.
  91. dell193
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    Unplayable with mouse and keyboard. They didn't even take the time to translate all keymapping hints to a keyboard input. And on top of that, when you press a button it litteraly takes ages for your character to actually do something.
    Graphics are very bad aswell, yet i wouldn't mind if you could actaully play the game. Getting infos in this game is also a pain in the ass.
  92. Bobblebeheader
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    Wow... Just wow... And not in a good way.

    Let me just say this: the game is a very bad port from console (Xbox) to PC. Especially the controls and thus the gameplay have suffered, and since that is the bread and butter of any game it just breaks Dark Souls II. It's clunky, it's non-responsive, it's broken.

    That really should be all you need to know not to buy the game at this point.
  93. ogisha
    Apr 27, 2014
    0
    The game is awful. Enemies moves are too predictable. Maps are terrible too, its just a lot of tight corridors. Your character moves like a snail, it takes two hours for your character to response to a pressed button. Its hard in a way that is unfair which is not something to be praised. DO NOT BUY.
  94. KaXaSA
    Apr 27, 2014
    10
    This is a 'good port' the game was actually ported from pc to consoles and not the other way around, the mouse controls are better but you need to disable things like auto cam and mess with the mouse sensibility imo you should just use a controller instead.

    While I don't really like/ agree with these score systems the 5.6 score is not fair at all, anything below 8 is bs just ignore them :p
  95. Nemeziz
    Apr 27, 2014
    5
    I've never done this before, but Dark Souls 2 deserves creating an account and submitting a review.

    I'm not going to address the technical issues the pc port is facing, or the quality of ingame graphics. It's a separate problem and I hope Namco Bandai will face some consequences of their false advertisement/bate and switch tactics. Dark Souls 2 is not a Souls game. It's as simple as    I've never done this before, but Dark Souls 2 deserves creating an account and submitting a review.

    I'm not going to address the technical issues the pc port is facing, or the quality of ingame graphics. It's a separate problem and I hope Namco Bandai will face some consequences of their false advertisement/bate and switch tactics.

    Dark Souls 2 is not a Souls game. It's as simple as that. It's missing everything that made the previous games so special. Starting with the controls, combat mechanics, loot system, game world, boss fights and ending with the difficulty level. It's all gone. Replaced with mechanics that try to "innovate"and remain similar to the previous game at the same time.

    The controls feel clunky and unresponsive. The character seems "heavy" and the movement is sluggish. Where in previous games the overall rules applied to both the player and the enemies. In Dark Souls 2 there's a different set of rules (stamina, poise, movement etc) for the player and the monsters. Some will have infinite stamina and spam heavy attacks to no end. Other's will "track" your movement in the middle of their attack animation. We're talking about spinning 360 degrees while "channeling" their attack. Some will even go as far as to reset the attack animation and hit you when they should be recovering from their last attack.

    The world design is inconsistent and seems out of place. One minute you're fighting a boss in a giant mill just to take the elevator up to the iron keep. The problem is - there's no keep above the mill. Level design is poor at best and the multitude of bon fires makes little sense. In some cases you'll have 4 of them in an area the size of Undead Asylum. You'll find yourself fighting 4 of the most powerful demons in the land to overcome a bit of rubble blocking the way in the forest...

    Instead of creating interesting enemies From decided to toss a bunch of mobs at you to make up what they lack in design with numbers. The difficulty doesn't come from good design choices but cheap gimmicks. Enemies attacking you through doors or a gate. Bosses with adds during the fight, bosses that "multiply" during the fight. It's all based on cheesy gimmicks. Even the fights that suppose to resemble if not imitate boss fights from the previous game are simply boring.

    Deaths feel cheap. It feels like the game is trolling you by not following it's own rules. The concept of having to die in order to get loot has no place in a Souls game.

    Overall the game is a huge disappointment.

    It's got as much in common with previous Souls games as Resident Evil 6 has with the original Resident Evil ;)

    An average imitation at best.    … Expand
  96. KoosKing
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    Terrible port is terrible and doesn't even run. Do not waste your money on this until after it's been patched. Seriously, don't do it - even if you think that maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones. Don't do it. It's not worth your money.
  97. Andrew_Paterson
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    I seldom give games low or high scores unless they are uttlery outstanding in some way.

    Dark Souls II is an outstandingly bad console port. I assume. I haven't managed to start it yet as it immediately crashes back to the desktop. Couple this with feedback that keyboard and mouse controls are broken and that modding the game to fix it is a bannable offence and there's not a lot    I seldom give games low or high scores unless they are uttlery outstanding in some way.

    Dark Souls II is an outstandingly bad console port. I assume. I haven't managed to start it yet as it immediately crashes back to the desktop.

    Couple this with feedback that keyboard and mouse controls are broken and that modding the game to fix it is a bannable offence and there's not a lot left.

    A sincere pity that Dark Souls II is pile of trash because I really, really, really enjoyed the first one.    … Expand
  98. MeKrika
    Apr 27, 2014
    1
    This is the worst game I've played in years,words can't describe how miserable this experience was.
    This game has THE WORST hit detection ever.
    Boss fights are really cheap because instead of good AI the morons at namco decided to make the AI balls but their HP and damage infinite so they can instakill you with 1 or 2 attacks.Dodging and blocking is horrible most of the time dodging    This is the worst game I've played in years,words can't describe how miserable this experience was.
    This game has THE WORST hit detection ever.
    Boss fights are really cheap because instead of good AI the morons at namco decided to make the AI balls but their HP and damage infinite so they can instakill you with 1 or 2 attacks.Dodging and blocking is horrible
    most of the time dodging will kill you and blocking is even worse,most of the bosses can go through your shield and stagger you.the game is saying ''f**k you'' to everybody who wants to play offline without other dipshi*s coming and killing them,50% of the time you will be getting useless online items that you have 0 use in offline,most of the bosses require you to summon somebody which you can't do wile you're offline, so in 5 (or less) years when they shut down the severs you're pretty much f****d.The port this time around is even WORSE than the last one more pop-in and the lag is even worse i ran the last game at a stable 25-30 fps i run this one at 40-50 but every few seconds the fps drops to less than 10 for a few seconds this gets especially frustrating when fighting a boss ( i surpass the recommended system requirements)and still no keyboard and mouse mappings.It's good that when you kill an enemy a certain amount of time they stop respawning but if you die and fail to retrieve your souls a few time in a row i could spend the whole game like a ginger.So overall is This game worth the money ? Hell no.Not even a rent.Maybe after 10 patches the game could possibly be half-decent/playable but in it's current state you must avoid it at all cost .    … Expand
  99. arktor
    Apr 27, 2014
    10
    i don't get all these negative reviews here. the game is great. everything i love in the dark souls 1 - but more. and runs better, much better. i love this game.
  100. gustvatems
    Apr 27, 2014
    7
    Sigh. These people CLEARLY don't know how to make reviews. The port is bad and it's an instant zero out of ten. I agree that the port is pretty bad and it has some issues like crashing sometimes, so I wouldn't recommend buying the game yet if you don't want to risk it. But the level design is in my opinion better than the original Dark Souls, the graphics are better, the mechanics areSigh. These people CLEARLY don't know how to make reviews. The port is bad and it's an instant zero out of ten. I agree that the port is pretty bad and it has some issues like crashing sometimes, so I wouldn't recommend buying the game yet if you don't want to risk it. But the level design is in my opinion better than the original Dark Souls, the graphics are better, the mechanics are pretty much the same, the bosses and enemy design are awesome. That is enough to give it at least a 6/10, the gameplay stays pretty much the same as in Dark Souls, and it's still as hard as ever, a bit cheap some times but that doesn't happen often. The dialogue is great and so is the voice acting, and the lore is there like in the prequels. I would give this game a 7/10 right now, if they fix their port a solid 9/10.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PC Game of 2014
8
#8 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
12
#12 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. CD-Action
    Jul 23, 2014
    95
    This game’s playability puts to shame everything that’s been released for the new generation of consoles. [06/2014, p.54]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Jun 6, 2014
    90
    The definitive Dark Souls II experience, the latest entry to The Souls series shines on the PC. [June 2014, p.50]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Jun 5, 2014
    80
    If you’re a fan of hardcore games, try Dark Souls 2. It is not as memorable as its predecessor, and yet it is still a phenomenal experience.
    Read full review
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